Airports
FAA Caves In to City Demand To Close Santa Monica Airport
Under an agreement between the FAA and the city of Santa Monica, the city's airport will be closed permanently at the end of 2028.
After the city of Santa Monica shortens SMO airport's runway to 3,500 feet, large business jets like those in the background will no longer be able to use the iconic airport. (Photo: Matt Thurber)
After the city of Santa Monica shortens SMO airport's runway to 3,500 feet, large business jets like those in the background will no longer be able to use the iconic airport. (Photo: Matt Thurber)

California's Santa Monica Airport (SMO), both historically important and a key part of the National Airspace System (NAS), will close at the end of 2028, the FAA said on Saturday following two weeks of negotiations between city leaders and the agency. Somewhat sooner, possibly within a year, the city of Santa Monica, which owns the 227-acre airfield, will cut the 4,973-foot runway down to 3,500 feet, effectively eliminating access to the larger jets that currently fly there. 

Before Saturday's surprise settlement, the city and FAA had been embroiled in multiple lawsuits, with the city council and its airport commission firmly arguing for closing the airport while the FAA and pro-airport proponents repeatedly pointed out that after World War II, the city had signed an instrument of transfer to keep the airport open in perpetuity.