Airports
Business Jet Ops Drop Sharply at Santa Monica Airport
Oral arguments set in May for NBAA lawsuit to overturn effort to close airport.
Since Santa Monica Airport (SMO) shortened its runway by 1,500 feet, to 3,500 feet, in December, business jet traffic there has plummeted by more than 80 percent, while while turboprop operations are up 40 percent. This statistic is reflected by the traffic on the ramp at Atlantic Aviation SMO. (Photo: Matt Thurber/AIN)
Since Santa Monica Airport (SMO) shortened its runway by 1,500 feet, to 3,500 feet, in December, business jet traffic there has plummeted by more than 80 percent, while while turboprop operations are up 40 percent. This statistic is reflected by the traffic on the ramp at Atlantic Aviation SMO. (Photo: Matt Thurber/AIN)

In the three months since the city of Santa Monica shortened the runway at Santa Monica Airport (SMO) in California to 3,500 feet, jet traffic has plummeted by more than 80 percent, the city reported this week. Jet operations at SMO last month numbered just 139, down from the average of 687 jet operations in February 2016 and 2017. Similarly, in January, jet operations had declined to 111, down 84 percent from the prior average of 696 in January 2016 and 2017.


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