Tag: FAA

SANTA MONICA—At the end of March 2026, the Santa Monica City government announced that the Santa Monica Airport would close on December 31, 2028. On Wednesday, May 6, residents tried to persuade the city government to keep the airport open, who are concerned about job loss including revenue for the city.

Santa Monica intends to convert the land on which the airport sits into open space, including cultural sites and athletic facilities. Residents of Santa Monica who support keeping the Santa Monica Airport open believe that “the airport can help with emergency preparedness” to fight future wildfires, according to KTLA 5 in Los Angeles.

Reasons for the planned closure of Santa Monica Airport include complaints complained about the noise from planes landing and taking off from the runways. In addition, to exhaust from jet engines negatively affecting air quality in the region.

Since the 1970s, there have been several legal disputes where residents of Santa Monica fought against the Federal Aviation Administration’s actions regarding aircraft operations and the use of the Santa Monica Airport’s facilities.

The Santa Monica Airport was built in 1923. Its original name was Clover Field, which was a tribute to the American Aviator and writer Greayer Clover, who served as a pilot in the French Army before he died in 1918. The aircraft company, Donald Douglas, was once based at the Santa Monica Airport.

In the late 1960s, the city of Santa Monica started working with other local airports and the Federal Aviation Administration, and the airport’s name changed from Clover Field to Santa Monica Airport.

According to the terms of the Santa Monica Settlement Agreement, which the city of Santa Monica reached in 2017 with the FAA, the city is legally required to continue operating the Santa Monica Airport until December 31, 2028.

By Daniel Diquinzio

MALIBU—On June 6, the city of Malibu announced on its website that it petitioned the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit Court to review a February 20, 2024, decision by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), as part of the city’s effort to address noise impacts on the community of new flight paths.

“Like every community in America, Malibu needs to able to enjoy peace and quiet as an important part of community health and wellness,” said Mayor Steve Uhring. “However, our residents, as well as the habitats and wildlife of the Santa Monica Mountains, are heavily impacted by aircraft noise. I urge the FAA to work with Malibu to find solutions so that we can protect our quality of life.”

The city of Malibu indicated that three new flight paths in and out of Los Angeles International Airport (HUULL TWO, IRNMN TWO, and RYDRR TWO) have been identified as having particularly strong noise impacts on Malibu generated by planes during take-off and landing. The FAA’s February 20, 2024, decision would exclude those flight paths from further environmental considerations.

The city of Malibu wants a dialogue openly with the FAA about the impacts of these flight paths on the community, the need to take the issue seriously, and to work with the city to develop flight procedures that will decrease such impacts.

The city of Malibu hopes that a Court review of the decision made by the FAA can get the Federal Aviation Administration to come to the table and discuss with the city a way to reach an acceptable solution between the parties.

For details, see the City’s petition to the FAA. For more background information, see the City’s September 9, 2023, letter to the FAA.

By Trevor