Study: Closing and Redeveloping Whiteman Airport Could Cost About $3.55 Billion
Why It MattersThe study shows that closing a general aviation airport brings a large cleanup and redevelopment bill, while FAA release rules on grant-funded land mean closure cannot rest on non-aviation interests alone.
What happened
Closing and redeveloping Whiteman Airport in Pacoima, California, could cost approximately $3.55 billion, according to a Los Angeles County-commissioned study released ahead of a public meeting on Wednesday. The Whiteman Airport Coalition announced the figure on Monday, breaking it into $3.46 billion in redevelopment costs and $90 million for demolition and environmental cleanup.
Trifiletti Consulting conducted the $2.1 million study and evaluated three scenarios for the airport's future: maintaining existing operations with improvements, retaining airport operations while allowing compatible development, and closing the airport for redevelopment. In the coalition's summary, both scenarios that preserve airport operations project positive financial outcomes, while the closure and redevelopment scenario projects losses. The consultants did not recommend any particular option.
The analysis also found that Whiteman generated approximately $1.1 million in operating surplus between fiscal years 2022 and 2025, accounting for nearly one-third of the county airport system's operating revenue.
In a January letter to Los Angeles County, the FAA wrote that its overarching requirement for approving any airport closure is that the action must demonstrate a net benefit to civil aviation, and that non-aviation interests cannot serve as justification for a release or closure of the airport. The FAA previously determined that land acquired through federal Airport Improvement Program grants remains subject to continuing obligations unless formally released by the agency.
Los Angeles County will present the study's findings at a public workshop on Wednesday at Los Angeles Mission College, and officials will gather additional community feedback before the report is finalized. No decision on Whiteman Airport's future has been announced.
The long-running closure debate
Whiteman has been the subject of a prolonged argument over whether it should stay open. Some community groups and elected officials have raised concerns about aircraft accidents, noise and environmental impacts.
Airport supporters point to its role in flight training, aviation businesses and emergency response operations. The study's numbers now enter that argument alongside those competing claims.
Industry impact & what to watch
The study illustrates a recurring problem for local governments weighing the fate of a general aviation field: the land is rarely a blank slate. Redevelopment carries a cleanup and demolition bill on top of construction costs, and an airport that covers its own operating costs gives officials a financial reason to weigh against closure. Whiteman's reported surplus, equal to nearly a third of the county system's operating revenue, shows how a single reliever field can carry real weight in a county airport system's accounts.
The federal layer is the harder constraint. Land bought with Airport Improvement Program grants stays under continuing obligations until the FAA formally releases it, and the agency's stated test is a net benefit to civil aviation. That test limits how far a closure case can lean on housing, noise or other non-aviation arguments, which shapes what counties can realistically pursue at similar fields.
The next milestone is Wednesday's workshop at Los Angeles Mission College, followed by additional community feedback before the report is finalized. Any change to the airport's status would still depend on a formal FAA release.
