The city of Santa Monica, California, is proceeding with Phase 2 of a runway shortening project at Santa Monica Municipal Airport (SMO), closing the airfield for 10 days beginning at 9 p.m. (PST) on Tuesday, Dec. 12. The airport will be closed to all traffic until 7 a.m. (PST) Saturday, Dec. 23, when it will […]
Santa Monica Airport
NBAA files final brief over SMO closing
The National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) has filed its final brief before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit challenging the legality of the settlement agreement reached earlier this year between the FAA and the city of Santa Monica, California, over the future of Santa Monica Municipal Airport (SMO.) The Nov. […]
Judge reverses order to stop SMO runway shortening
Pilots who fly into Southern California’s Santa Monica Municipal Airport (SMO) will soon need to prepare for runway closures and construction, as a District Court judge denied a preliminary injunction and dissolved a temporary restraining order (TRO) to halt the city’s planned runway shortening project. The City of Santa Monica has been authorized to reduce […]
Judge halts shortening of SMO runway
The runway at Santa Monica Municipal Airport (SMO) in Southern California got a reprieve when a temporary restraining order was issued by the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, which stopped the city’s plan to shorten the sole runway at Santa Monica Municipal Airport (SMO). The TRO came in response to a […]
SMO runway shortening begins Oct. 9
Despite ongoing litigation by the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) and other parties, the city of Santa Monica, California, is moving forward with a runway shortening project at Santa Monica Municipal Airport (SMO), starting Monday, Oct. 9, 2017. SMO’s single runway will be reduced from 4,973 feet to 3,500 feet, with the project expected to […]
$3.5 million to shorten SMO’s runway
The Santa Monica City Council has approved a $3.5 million contract to shorten the sole runway at the municipal airport by more than a third, a move meant to drastically cut the jet traffic neighbors have long sought to stop, according to a story in the Santa Monica Lookout. Reducing the length of the runway […]
NBAA to Appeals Court: Santa Monica agreement must be vacated
The National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) joined with five other groups and businesses to file a brief with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, challenging the legality of a “settlement agreement” between the FAA and the city of Santa Monica to close the Santa Monica Municipal Airport (KSMO). The highly […]
Santa Monica votes to shorten SMO runway
The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association is reporting that California’s Santa Monica City Council unanimously voted to reduce the length of its municipal runway from nearly 5,000 feet to 3,500 feet, as permitted under a settlement agreement with the FAA that also allows the city to close the airport in 2028. According to AOPA, the effort will […]
Court refers SMO agreement to merits panel
The U.S. Court of Appeals, District of Columbia Circuit has referred an agreement by the FAA and the city of Santa Monica, California, to close Santa Monica Municipal Airport to a merits panel for further review about the legality of the settlement agreement. This May 4, 2017, ruling defers the FAA’s motion for dismissal of the […]