The City of Santa Monica has approved a contract for shortening of the runway at SMO from 4,973 feet to 3,500 feet. After years of attempts to close the airport entirely, the City of Santa Monica entered into an agreement in January with the FAA that would permit the city to shorten the runway immediately and to close the airport in 2028. The excess runway will be converted to blastpad and runway overrun spaces. While sufficient for piston, turboprop and even light jet traffic, 3,500 feet won’t be enough runway for owners of the largest business jets, who will have to move their planes elsewhere. The city estimates shortening the runway will reduce jet traffic by 44 percent.
The exact design is scheduled for completion later this month with construction work ongoing from October to December of this year. The airport will be closed overnight for significant portions of this time and the city says operators can expect the airport to be closed for seven to 14 days during this period.
