Faced with the possibility of losing hundreds of millions in state funding, the Los Angeles City Council canceled a study Tuesday and gave a helicopter company a lease at the Van Nuys airport for up to 25 years, despite protests from nearby residents.
Airport officials, city attorneys and Mayor Karen Bass have warned the city could be at risk of losing Federal Aviation Administration funding if the lease is rejected.
“I failed [approve the lease] it would jeopardize hundreds of millions of dollars in Los Angeles and critical projects at all of our airports,” Bass said in a statement before the vote. “Our airports are our city's gateways to the rest of the world, and we must run them as such.”
Bass said the vote was especially urgent as the city prepares to host the World Cup in 2026 and the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2028.
The council's 11-2 vote followed a year-long political battle in courtrooms, courtrooms, emotional hearings and behind closed doors. The decision marks a major defeat for Council Member Imelda Padilla, who campaigned to block the lease.
“I stood strong, voting with my conscience and my team to ensure that the Van Nuys airport respects and values the surrounding community,” Padilla, whose district includes the airport, said in a statement after the vote. Councilman Hugo Soto-Martínez also voted against the lease.
Padilla criticized the bidding process, saying it was “dishonest and unfair.” He also warned that leasing would lead to an increase in aircraft traffic – without measures to deal with noise and environmental impact.
In March, Padilla persuaded his colleagues to reject a lease proposal from Bonseph Helinet, LLC, who responded months later by suing the city.
Bonseph Helinet is a joint venture formed by Helinet Aviation Services, which operates a helicopter charging and maintenance facility at the Van Nuys Airport; the Castagna 1998 Trust; and Bonseph Holdings Van Nuys, which has a majority stake in Bonseph Helinet.
For more than 35 years, Helinet Aviation Services has served the Van Nuys Airport, providing aircraft for the television media, fire departments and entertainment industry. The company also operates as a helicopter charter company, transporting patients and organs to hospitals throughout the region.
The dispute over the airport's lease has highlighted the legal hurdles communities around the airports, whose flights are controlled by the government. It also served to increase complaints from residents near the facility, which we had 300,000 flights it takes off in 2021, and is the busiest airport in the country – serving private and charter flights, but not scheduled flights.
Neighbors complained about dangerous jet fuel, saying their children know it it doesn't play outside anymore due to unchecked aviation growth and lack of public safety measures. Many are concerned that the upgraded facilities will allow the company to shift its emphasis, from providing a more profitable charter flight service.
Suzanne Gutierrez, a Lake Balboa resident and founder of Fume Fighters, a community advocacy group, called the decision to approve the lease “a real slap in the face to the community.”
“The community will suffer. There is no reduction for us. We are currently suffering from smoke,” he said.
Helinet plans to spend $25 million to redevelop the airport site, demolishing two dilapidated hangars and building two new ones, as well as new office space, shops and other improvements.
The company said it will continue to focus on current operations and has no plans to expand flights. It also points out that under the lease, the company is prohibited from operating on a sustainable basis as a regular jet charter service used by the rich and famous.
It insisted that it would use the industrial part of the airport as a runway, not a residential area.
The Board of Airport Commissioners, a seven-member panel made up of mayoral appointees, recommended the 25-year lease through December 2022 after a bidding process. Community activists argued that the program was not really competitive, as Bonseph Helinet was the only company that ended up bidding.
Padilla had warned that the lease would lead to increased airport activity, placing new burdens on his people. He persuaded his colleagues to reject the lease in March and get council support to draw up a new zoning plan for the airport – which will look at new ways to deal with aircraft noise and air pollution.
Bonseph Helinet sued the city in May over its decision to void the lease, saying the council missed a deadline for the airport commission to make a decision.
In its lawsuit, the company accused Padilla of using the airport issue to win re-election two months ago. The company also alleged that the council inadvertently taped the phone during a closed-door meeting about the lease, allowing the public to hear city attorneys voice their concerns over the airport's lease rejection.
At the same time, the Van Nuys Airport Assn., a business group, filed its own complaint with the Federal Aviation Administration, arguing that the council's rejection of the lease violates the city's obligations under federal law. The group said the design changes would be used to reduce airport operations.
The FAA, after investigating the complaint, made a preliminary ruling that the council violated federal rules that require the city to make its airports available to the public “without unfair discrimination” against airline operations. The agency advised the city to change its course of action, giving the council until October 24 to submit a “remedial plan” regarding the issue.
One day before the deadline, the council met again behind closed doors. In a confidential letter, city attorneys warned council members that, if they fail to take corrective action, the FAA could withhold critical funding from the city — not just at Van Nuys Airport, but also at LAX and Hollywood-Burbank.
Los Angeles World Airports, which oversees the three airports, “was awarded more than $622 million in grants between 2019 and 2025,” said the memo, a copy of which was reviewed by The Times.
Of that number, about half were “at risk” of the lease dispute, the memo said.
The council revived the lease program, which was also taken up by the aviation commission last month.
On Tuesday, the council voted 8-5 to settle the case with Bonseph Helinet, Padilla, Soto-Martinez and Councilors Kevin de León, Monica Rodriguez and Bob Blumenfield voting no. Under that agreement, Bonseph Helinet agreed to drop his lawsuit and make contact with his plans to rebuild.
Representatives of Bonseph Helinet refused to comment on the council's decision.
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