A Los Angeles jet charter meets a published night restriction at almost every airport around the city, and those restrictions do not all reach the same aircraft. Six airports here take business aviation, each under its own rules, and what decides your departure time is rarely the hour alone. It is a set of published figures: the noise value of the aircraft, its weight, and at John Wayne its wingspan. JETAURA works as a charter broker for private jet Los Angeles requests, and we check that against your schedule.
Depending on the aircraft type, private flights can use a wide range of airports, including smaller airfields that scheduled aircraft do not serve regularly. Around Los Angeles those differences are set out airport by airport in our airport guides.
Tell us your destination, travel date and number of passengers, and our aviation team will check what fits. Your enquiry is not binding.
Request a flightThe six airports at a glance
| Main runway | Night flying ban for a modern jet | Customs | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Van Nuys (VNY) | 8,001 ft, LDA 6,570 ft on 16R | Binding departure ban 23:00–07:00 above 74 dBA; Stage 3 and Stage 4 exempt from the 77 dBA access ban | User Fee Airport |
| Hollywood Burbank (BUR) | 6,886 ft | None. The rulebook is enforced by allowing Stage 3 certified aircraft to fly 22:00 to 07:00 | Not available |
| Long Beach (LGB) | 10,000 ft | Yes. Charter from 75,000 lb MTOW is confined to 07:00–22:00 | Not available |
| John Wayne (SNA) | 5,700 ft | A measured noise limit per monitoring station, not a time ban | User Fee; not on the CBP list for general aviation |
| Santa Monica (SMO) | 3,500 ft | Yes. No engine start, APU or departure at night | Not available |
| Los Angeles Intl (LAX) | 12,923 ft | The over-ocean procedure is described by the FAA as informal | Landing Rights Airport |
Runway and access figures come from the FAA National Flight Data Center, including its remarks fields, data current for 3 September to 1 October 2026. The noise rules come from the ordinances and operator rulebooks of the airport owners, linked at the end of this page.
Van Nuys in figures
| Codes | VNY · ICAO KVNY |
| Runways | 16R/34L: 8,001 ft × 150 ft · 16L/34R: 4,013 ft × 75 ft |
| Landing distance available | 6,570 ft on runway 16R · 7,261 ft on runway 34L |
| Bearing strength | 90,000 lb single wheel · 120,000 lb double wheel, on 16R/34L |
| Pavement classification | no PCN or PCR published |
| Tower | 06:00 to 22:45; field attendance continuous |
| Scheduled traffic | excluded by FAA record |
| Customs | User Fee Airport, hours set by a weekly roster |
| Location | 3 miles north-west of Van Nuys |
Figures come from the FAA National Flight Data Center, data current for 3 September to 1 October 2026, from Los Angeles World Airports, which owns the airport, and for the customs line from US Customs and Border Protection.
What "curfew" means in Los Angeles
Read about business aviation in Los Angeles and you will find night restrictions at almost every airport. They exist. What is rarely said is which aircraft they catch.
Van Nuys has several separate rules, and they do not reach the same aircraft. A departure ban applies between 23:00 and 07:00 to aircraft whose published noise value exceeds 74 dBA. It rests on a city ordinance and it binds. The reference point is the listed value of the aircraft type, not its certification stage. A second ordinance extends the restriction to 22:00, and that one does not apply to Stage 3. A third bars aircraft at or above 77 dBA from the airport at any hour, and Stage 3 and Stage 4 are exempt from it. Whether that third rule is covered by federal law is unsettled: the FAA wrote to the city in 2000 that the restriction is not grandfathered under the Airport Noise and Capacity Act, and the city enacted it in 2010 regardless. Which of them reaches a given aircraft is settled by published figures. Alongside them the FAA record carries a voluntary quiet period between 23:00 and 07:00, which asks jets to avoid both departures and arrivals.
Burbank's rulebook describes its own limits. Rule 9 of the airport's noise rules is enforced, in the authority's own words, "by allowing Stage 3 certified aircraft to fly between 10 p.m. and 7:00 a.m." The separate voluntary night period there applies to scheduled airline traffic and, according to the operator, does not cover general aviation flights at all. What does bind at Burbank is narrower and worth knowing: intersection take-offs, maintenance engine run-ups and flight training are prohibited between 22:00 and 07:00, and those rules are enforced as written.
Two applications for a mandatory night restriction, both refused
Burbank applied for a mandatory night curfew under the federal procedure for noise and access restrictions. The FAA disapproved the application on 30 October 2009. Los Angeles World Airports applied for an access restriction at Los Angeles International; the FAA disapproved that one on 7 November 2014. Both decisions are listed in the FAA's own register of such cases.
The over-ocean pattern at Los Angeles International, flown between midnight and 06:30, appears in the FAA Chart Supplement as one of "LAWA's informal noise abatement procedures". Air traffic control may direct otherwise.
The two airports where the night rule is real
Long Beach is the exception that matters for business aviation. The municipal code defines a charter operation in part by two criteria: the flight is for compensation, and the aircraft has a certificated maximum take-off weight of 75,000 pounds or more. Aircraft in that category may operate only between 07:00 and 22:00, must meet Stage 3, and need the written prior approval of the Airport Manager. Below the weight threshold, a charter flight counts as general aviation and none of that applies. It is aimed squarely at the largest aircraft.
Long Beach also runs measured noise limits that tighten through the evening, reaching their strictest level between 23:00 and 06:00, with no hardship clause at that hour. And between 22:00 and 07:00 all runways except 12/30 are closed, which in practice leaves the longest one open.
Santa Monica has the only blanket rule. Engine start, auxiliary power unit operation and departure are each prohibited between 23:00 and 07:00 on weekdays, or until 08:00 at weekends. Landings stay permitted, and the parallel restraint on night arrivals is voluntary.
The 8,001-foot runway that lands at 6,570
Van Nuys is advertised at 8,001 feet, and for departure that is the figure that applies. The FAA record states it, though as local practice rather than as an approved federal measure:
"ALL JET ACFT MUST USE FULL RUNWAY LENGTH FOR DEPARTURE UNLESS OTHERWISE DIRECTED BY ATCT."
Arrival is a different number. A displaced threshold of 1,431 feet reduces the landing distance available on runway 16R to 6,570 feet, which is 17.9 per cent below the published length. In the opposite direction, runway 34L offers 7,261 feet, also short of the full figure. Runway 34L has no approach lighting system and no precision approach.
Which FBO handles private flights at Van Nuys airport
There is no single Van Nuys airport FBO. A fixed base operator is the terminal a private flight is handled through, away from the scheduled terminal a passenger airline would use. The FAA writes in its briefing for pilots that there is no airport-sponsored transient parking there at all: parking may be available at the fixed base operators, and the FAA tells crews to contact one in advance for availability and reservations.
| Airport | FBO | Operator |
|---|---|---|
| Van Nuys (VNY) | Signature VNY East | Signature Aviation |
| Van Nuys (VNY) | Signature VNY West | Signature Aviation |
| Van Nuys (VNY) | Clay Lacy Aviation | Clay Lacy Aviation |
| Van Nuys (VNY) | Jet Aviation Van Nuys | Jet Aviation |
| Van Nuys (VNY) | Castle & Cooke Aviation | Castle & Cooke Aviation |
| Hollywood Burbank (BUR) | Atlantic Aviation BUR | Atlantic Aviation |
| Hollywood Burbank (BUR) | Hollywood Burbank Jet Center | Hollywood Burbank Jet Center |
| Long Beach (LGB) | Signature Long Beach | Signature Aviation |
| Long Beach (LGB) | Atlantic Aviation Long Beach | Atlantic Aviation |
| John Wayne (SNA) | ACI Jet | ACI Jet |
| John Wayne (SNA) | Clay Lacy Aviation | Clay Lacy Aviation |
| Los Angeles Intl (LAX) | Atlantic Aviation LAX | Atlantic Aviation |
| Los Angeles Intl (LAX) | Signature Los Angeles | Signature Aviation |
Two counts are settled by the sources themselves. The city of Long Beach states that there are currently two fixed base operators at its airport, and names them. US Customs and Border Protection states that Los Angeles International has two.
Opening hours differ, and at Burbank the difference is operational. Atlantic Aviation there gives 04:30 to 22:30 in its own data field, with round-the-clock service by prior arrangement; the second operator gives 24 hours. How long before departure you need to arrive is set by the airport, the terminal and the operator, and we confirm it with your booking.
We do not list a fixed base operator for Santa Monica. The ground handling position there could not be established from primary sources for 2026, and the reason is structural: the city holds leases for aeronautical service providers to a maximum of three years and hangars month to month.
What Van Nuys is used for
The FAA describes Van Nuys as "a medium sized, primarily business, and general aviation airport" and adds that it "is one of the busiest general aviation airports in the country". Scheduled traffic is excluded: the FAA record states that the airport is closed to air carrier operations. It is owned by Los Angeles World Airports, which also owns Los Angeles International.
The other airports, and where each one stops
John Wayne (SNA) applies a measured limit rather than a time ban to general aviation. The county's noise ordinance sets a single-event level at each of ten monitoring stations, between 86.7 and 87.6 dBA at night, and the airport confirms that general aviation may operate around the clock as long as it stays within them. The margin is thin. The county's own enforcement report for the first half of 2026 gives monthly averages for private jets at one of the night-limited stations of 87.8 to 88.5 dB, against a night limit there of 87.5 dB. A violation is a misdemeanour, and three violations within three years can cost an aircraft three years of access. The general aviation apron takes aircraft up to 100,000 pounds maximum gross weight on dual gear and under 100 feet of wingspan, which excludes the largest long-range cabins. The airport's noise abatement guide gives that weight as the certificated maximum gross take-off weight.
Long Beach (LGB) has the longest runway of the five airports other than Los Angeles International, at 10,000 feet, and the rules for heavy charter set out above. Its declared distances are shorter than that figure: runway 30 gives 7,414 feet of landing distance against a 2,000-foot displaced threshold, runway 12 gives 8,650 feet.
Los Angeles International (LAX) is a Landing Rights Airport, the only one of the six with that status. Every turbojet arriving at the Imperial Terminal must, regardless of weight, shut down its engines on the taxiway and be towed into position. Maintenance engine run-ups are prohibited between 23:00 and 06:00 under the airport's own rules.
Santa Monica (SMO) has a 3,500-foot runway after a shortening that took effect in December 2017, and prior permission is required for dual-wheel aircraft above 60,000 pounds certified maximum landing weight. Its future is settled by a court agreement rather than by an announcement: the city is obliged to operate the airport until 31 December 2028, and from 1 January 2029 it may close it at its sole discretion.
Customs is the tighter clock
This is the constraint that catches people out, because it has nothing to do with noise.
Van Nuys is a User Fee Airport and Los Angeles International is a Landing Rights Airport; for those two, customs hours are documented. Burbank, Long Beach and Santa Monica are neither, and cannot process an arrival from abroad at all. John Wayne holds User Fee status but does not appear on the CBP list of airports where general aviation clearance is normally available, and CBP publishes no clearance hours for that traffic.
The hours at Van Nuys are not a single window but a weekly roster. Customs and Border Protection publishes them as "Monday, Thursday, and Sunday, 0900-2030. Tuesday and Wednesday, 1500-2030. Friday and Saturday, 0900-1430. Pacific Time". A transatlantic arrival on a Friday afternoon can therefore be too late for Van Nuys.
We set out the status because it decides which airports are candidates at all. What a particular flight requires is a question for CBP and for the operating carrier, not for a broker's website.
Which aircraft classes a private jet charter to Los Angeles can use
JETAURA describes four aircraft categories. Which of them fits is settled by published figures: the noise value of the aircraft, the declared landing distance, the apron limits at John Wayne, and the weight threshold at Long Beach. All of them are read against the operator's own performance calculation for the day.
| Class | Suited to | Practical note for Los Angeles |
|---|---|---|
| Light jets | Shorter routes and smaller groups | The shortest runway of the six is Santa Monica at 3,500 feet, where dual-wheel aircraft above 60,000 pounds certified maximum landing weight need prior permission |
| Midsize jets | More space and range for longer journeys | Van Nuys offers 6,570 feet of landing distance on its main approach direction, well below its published length |
| Heavy jets | Considerable space and comfort for larger groups and longer distances | From 75,000 pounds certificated maximum take-off weight, a charter flight to Long Beach is confined to 07:00 to 22:00 and needs written approval |
| Ultra long range jets | Designed for particularly long international connections | The John Wayne general aviation apron takes aircraft under 100 feet of wingspan and up to 100,000 pounds maximum gross weight on dual gear |
This reflects published runway data and the ordinances of the airport owners. It is not a guarantee for a specific aircraft. Actual performance depends on take-off and landing weight, weather, runway condition and the operator's own procedures.
If you already know your dates, send them over with your destination and passenger numbers. Our aviation team will come back with suitable options and an individual offer.
Request a flightWhat influences the price of a Los Angeles jet charter
There is no flat rate for a private jet. The factors that shape a quote include the distance flown, the aircraft type, the number of passengers, the travel date, availability, the positioning of the aircraft, airport charges and any additional services requested.
Two things outside that list weigh on a Los Angeles jet charter in particular. The published noise value of the aircraft decides which airports and which hours are open to it, and the customs roster decides where an international arrival can land. Whether a different airport serves the trip better is part of what we check.
You receive no blanket "from" promise from us. You receive an offer tailored to your journey, with the relevant costs set out before you book. Our private jet charter service works the same way for every route.
How a request works
A Los Angeles jet charter request starts with four things: departure point, destination, travel date and passenger numbers. We check which aircraft are available, you receive suitable options and an individual offer, and once you confirm, we coordinate the remaining steps with the operator in charge. The flight itself is operated by the relevant air carrier; JETAURA arranges it.
Your enquiry is not binding. A booking only comes into being once you have expressly confirmed it. If your dates are flexible, empty leg flights may be worth considering, though they follow an operator's existing schedule and are less flexible on route and departure time.
Frequently asked questions about private jet charter in Los Angeles
Which airport do private jets use in Los Angeles?
Van Nuys, three miles north-west of the district of the same name, which the FAA calls one of the busiest general aviation airports in the country and which is closed to scheduled airlines. Hollywood Burbank, Long Beach, John Wayne, Santa Monica and Los Angeles International also take private flights, each under its own noise rules.
Is there a curfew for private jets in Los Angeles?
Not one that reaches every aircraft. Van Nuys bars departures between 23:00 and 07:00 by aircraft above 74 dBA. Burbank enforces its night rule by allowing Stage 3 certified aircraft to fly. Long Beach binds charter flights from 75,000 pounds certificated maximum take-off weight, and Santa Monica bars engine start and departure at night.
Can a private jet clear customs at Van Nuys?
Yes. Van Nuys is a User Fee Airport, and Customs and Border Protection publishes a weekly roster rather than a single window: Monday, Thursday and Sunday 09:00 to 20:30, Tuesday and Wednesday 15:00 to 20:30, Friday and Saturday 09:00 to 14:30, Pacific Time. CBP decides each case.
How long is the runway at Van Nuys airport?
The main runway 16R/34L measures 8,001 feet, and jets must use its full length for departure. For arrival the figure is lower: a displaced threshold reduces the landing distance available to 6,570 feet on runway 16R, while runway 34L offers 7,261 feet. The second runway measures 4,013 feet.
Which FBOs are at Van Nuys airport?
Five fixed base operators are documented, the terminals private flights are handled through: Signature VNY East, Signature VNY West, Clay Lacy Aviation, Jet Aviation and Castle & Cooke Aviation. This matters at Van Nuys because the FAA records no airport-sponsored transient parking there and directs crews to arrange parking with an FBO in advance.
Can a large private jet land at John Wayne Airport?
The runway measures 5,700 feet. Whether a given aircraft can use it is a question for the operator's performance calculation. The firmer constraint is the apron: it takes aircraft up to 100,000 pounds maximum gross weight on dual gear and under 100 feet of wingspan, which rules out the largest long-range cabins.
More general questions about booking, aircraft and on-board service are answered in our frequently asked questions. Other destinations are listed in our airport guides, including Miami.
Tell us your route
Two questions are settled before an aircraft is chosen: what noise value the aircraft is published at, and where the flight clears customs. Send us your departure point, destination, travel date and number of passengers, and our aviation team will check which aircraft fits your Los Angeles jet charter and which of the six airports suits the trip.
Your enquiry is not binding. A booking only comes into being once you have expressly confirmed it. If your dates are flexible, mention that too.
Sources
- FAA National Flight Data Center, Van Nuys (KVNY), Hollywood Burbank (KBUR), Long Beach (KLGB), John Wayne (KSNA), Santa Monica (KSMO) and Los Angeles International (KLAX), data current for 3 September to 1 October 2026 — accessed 15 September 2026
- FAA, Know Before You Go: KVNY, last updated 10 March 2026 — accessed 15 September 2026
- FAA, Part 161 decisions on noise and access restrictions, including Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena of 30 October 2009, Los Angeles International of 7 November 2014, and the Airport Noise and Capacity Act applicability letters for Van Nuys — accessed 15 September 2026
- City of Los Angeles, Ordinances 155727, 171889, 173215 and 181106 on aircraft noise at Van Nuys Airport — accessed 15 September 2026
- Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority, Noise Rules, Rules 8 and 9 — accessed 15 September 2026
- Long Beach Municipal Code, Chapter 16.43, in particular sections 16.43.010, 16.43.030, 16.43.040 and 16.43.060 — accessed 15 September 2026
- Los Angeles World Airports, LAX Rules and Regulations, section 13 on noise abatement and section 13.8 on the Imperial Terminal, revised 12 March 2024 — accessed 15 September 2026
- FAA, Chart Supplement, Special Notices for Los Angeles International, valid 3 September to 29 October 2026 — accessed 15 September 2026
- County of Orange, General Aviation Noise Ordinance, its enforcement report for the first half of 2026, and John Wayne Airport, Access and Noise FAQs — accessed 15 September 2026
- US District Court for the Central District of California, Stipulation and Order and Consent Decree in case 2:13-cv-08046, 30 January 2017 — accessed 15 September 2026
- US Customs and Border Protection, General Aviation Airport Fact Sheets for Van Nuys of 29 January 2026 and Los Angeles International of 10 March 2025, and the list of airports where general aviation clearance is available — accessed 15 September 2026
- City of Long Beach, memorandum on general aviation operations at Long Beach Airport, 31 October 2023 — accessed 15 September 2026
- Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority, replacement terminal FAQ, on the scope of the voluntary night period — accessed 15 September 2026
- City of Santa Monica, information item on the Santa Monica Airport closure, 29 April 2024 — accessed 15 September 2026
- Atlantic Aviation, Signature Aviation, Clay Lacy Aviation, Jet Aviation, Castle & Cooke Aviation, ACI Jet and Hollywood Burbank Jet Center, Los Angeles area location pages — accessed 15 September 2026
- John Wayne Airport, Pilot Guide and General Aviation Noise Abatement Guide of October 2015 — accessed 15 September 2026