Van Nuys Airport Economic Study Shows 77% More Jobs, $3.9 Billion Annual Output Compared with 2015

Van Nuys Airport (VNY) has released a new Economic Impact Study showing the airport now generates $3.9 billion in regional output annually, supports 18,350 jobs, contributes $1.1 billion in labor income, and adds $2.2 billion to the region's gross domestic product. Compared with a 2016 study by the Los Angeles Economic Development Corporation (LAEDC), the figures represent a 77 percent increase in jobs, a 46 percent increase in output, and a 27 percent increase in labor income, all adjusted for inflation. The airport also generates $197 million in state and local tax revenue each year.

Some 89 percent of employment and 81 percent of output attributable to VNY remain within Los Angeles County, with benefits reaching all five County Supervisorial Districts and all 15 City Council Districts. Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA) CEO John Ackerman referenced the study in his official board report, saying "Van Nuys Airport is a vital part of LAWA's regional aviation network and a powerful engine for economic growth across Los Angeles," and adding that "with 89% of the jobs generated by Van Nuys Airport staying within Los Angeles County, the airport's economic benefits are felt directly in the communities we serve." VNY Airport Manager Jacob Haik noted that the airport has nearly doubled its economic footprint over the past decade. Sonya Kay Blake, President and CEO of The Valley Economic Alliance (VEA), said the airport's impact spans aviation, manufacturing, logistics, and professional services. The study identifies the strongest economic spillovers in transportation and warehousing, real estate, durable goods manufacturing, healthcare, and retail trade.

Recent infrastructure activity at VNY includes the Van Nuys Taxiway Reconstruction Project. Of the two general contractors involved, one is on track to meet or exceed its 15 percent Disadvantaged Business Enterprise goal, currently at 14.6 percent, with more than 80 percent of new hires having attended schools in Southern California. VNY is a general aviation airport owned and operated by LAWA, a department of the City of Los Angeles. More than 200 businesses operate on its 730-acre site, including four major fixed-base operators.

Economic impact studies like this one have become a standard tool for general aviation airports seeking to defend their footprint against noise complaints, land-use pressure, and calls for closure or redevelopment. By translating flight activity into jobs, tax revenue, and county-wide GDP contribution, an airport like VNY reframes itself as regional infrastructure rather than a private-aviation amenity serving a narrow set of users.

The segment's economics depend on how broadly the multiplier effects are distributed. VNY's own figures show 89 percent of jobs and 81 percent of output staying within Los Angeles County, spread across all supervisorial and council districts, which is the kind of distribution that political stakeholders weigh when infrastructure funding or expansion questions arise. Spillovers concentrated in transportation, warehousing, manufacturing, healthcare, and retail also signal that a general aviation field's economic reach extends well beyond hangar tenants and FBOs into the surrounding commercial base.

What happens next will depend on how LAWA and city officials use these figures in budget and infrastructure decisions, including continued work on the Van Nuys Taxiway Reconstruction Project and its Disadvantaged Business Enterprise hiring goals. Whether the 77 percent jobs increase and $3.9 billion output figure hold up as a durable baseline, or get revisited in a future study, will shape how VNY's economic case is used in future planning debates.