Despite its status as one of the busiest business and general aviation airports in the world, California’s Van Nuys Airport (VNY) is also one of the safest, as the Los Angeles-area gateway finished 2018 with no runway or taxiway incursions. That statistic was highlighted in a report this week from the Los Angeles Board of Airport Commissioners. The FAA has identified such incursions by vehicle and pedestrian deviation as a critical safety and security issue at airports across the country.
The airport credited its incursion safety record to voluntary and mandatory measures put in place starting in 2015, such as administrative citations and revocation of airport driving privileges for violators and the restricting or closing of 38 percent of the original airside access gates. Since then, VNY has seen a steadily declining incursion trend, from four in 2015, three in 2016, to one in 2017. Major airport tenants also contributed via best safety practices.
“With more than 260,000 takeoffs and landings in 2018, Van Nuys Airport attracts a high level of aircraft operations and diverse business activities on a daily basis,” noted Deborah Flint, CEO of Los Angeles World Airports, which oversees VNY and Los Angeles International Airports. “VNY’s tremendous success is the result of close collaboration among airport management, tenants, users, and operators to implement ambitious and industry-leading safety and security programs.”