For the World War II use of the airport, see Venice Army Airfield

Venice Army Airfield

Venice Army Airfield is an inactive United States Air Force base, approximately 2 miles south-southeast of Venice, Florida. It was active during World War II as a Third Air Force training airfield...

Venice Municipal Airport is a city managed public-use airport

Airport

An airport is a location where aircraft such as fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and blimps take off and land. Aircraft may be stored or maintained at an airport...

 located two miles (3 km) south of the central business district

Central business district

A central business district is the commercial and often geographic heart of a city. In North America this part of a city is commonly referred to as "downtown" or "city center"...

 of Venice

Venice, Florida

Venice is a city in Sarasota County, Florida, United States. According to the U.S. Census Bureau's 2007 estimates, the city had a population of 21,015. It is noted for its large snowbird population. Its newspaper is the Venice Gondolier Sun...

, a city in Sarasota County

Sarasota County, Florida

Sarasota County is a county located in the U.S. state of Florida. The U.S. Census Bureau 2008 estimate for the county was 372,057. Its county seat is Sarasota, Florida....

, Florida

Florida

Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...

, United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

.

History

The airport was built during the 1940s by the United States Army Air Force. It served as a military flight training facility. It also was used by Air Transport Command

MATS

MATS is an acronym standing for Measurements with an Advanced Trapping System, which is a Helmholtz research group for young investigators...

  to deliver US-built aircraft destined for Britain

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 under Lend-lease

Lend-Lease

Lend-Lease was the program under which the United States of America supplied the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union, China, Free France, and other Allied nations with materiel between 1941 and 1945. It was signed into law on March 11, 1941, a year and a half after the outbreak of war in Europe in...

 from the factories on the West Coast or picked British pilots. Some of the aircraft were partially disassembled and prepared for being loaded onboard ships for the trip across the Atlantic Ocean

Atlantic Ocean

The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...

.

After World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, the U.S. government gave airport control to the City of Venice, naming them airport sponsor through various grant assurances.

After the September 11 attacks of 2001, authorities found out that three of the 9/11 terrorists, Mohamed Atta

Mohamed Atta

Mohamed Mohamed el-Amir Awad el-Sayed Atta was one of the masterminds and the ringleader of the September 11 attacks who served as the hijacker-pilot of American Airlines Flight 11, crashing the plane into the North Tower of the World Trade Center as part of the coordinated attacks.Born in 1968...

, Marwan al-Shehhi

Marwan al-Shehhi

Marwan Yousef Mohamed Rashid Lekrab al-Shehhi was the hijacker-pilot of United Airlines Flight 175, crashing the plane into the South Tower of the World Trade Center as part of the September 11 attacks....

, and Ziad Jarrah

Ziad Jarrah

Ziad Samir Jarrah was one of the masterminds of the September 11 attacks who served as the hijacker-pilot of United Airlines Flight 93, crashing the plane into a field in a rural area near Shanksville—after a passenger uprising—as part of the coordinated attacks.After a wealthy and secular...

, had all enrolled at the now defunct Huffman Aviation

Huffman Aviation

Huffman Aviation was a flight-training school in Venice, Florida at Venice Municipal Airport.-Background:Huffman Aviation was established in 1972 as Venice Flying Service, and was reorganized in 1987 and renamed as Huffman Aviation. Huffman Aviation was purchased by Dutchman Rudi Dekkers in 1999. ...

 flight training school at the VNC for aviation lessons. http://archives.cnn.com/2002/US/03/12/inv.flight.school.visas/index.html

Facilities and aircraft

Venice Municipal Airport covers an area of 1200 acres (485.6 ha) which contains two asphalt

Asphalt

Asphalt or , also known as bitumen, is a sticky, black and highly viscous liquid or semi-solid that is present in most crude petroleums and in some natural deposits, it is a substance classed as a pitch...

 paved runway

Runway

According to ICAO a runway is a "defined rectangular area on a land aerodrome prepared for the landing and take-off of aircraft." Runways may be a man-made surface or a natural surface .- Orientation and dimensions :Runways are named by a number between 01 and 36, which is generally one tenth...

s: 4/22 and 13/31, both measuring 5,000 x 150 ft (1,524 x 46 m).

For the 12-month period ending October 21, 2008, the airport had 172,645 aircraft operations, an average of 473 per day: 99% general aviation

General aviation

General aviation is one of the two categories of civil aviation. It refers to all flights other than military and scheduled airline and regular cargo flights, both private and commercial. General aviation flights range from gliders and powered parachutes to large, non-scheduled cargo jet flights...

, <1% air taxi

Air taxi

An air taxi is an air charter passenger or cargo aircraft which operates on an on-demand basis.-Regulation:In the United States, air taxi and air charter operations are governed by Part 135 of the Federal Aviation Regulations , unlike the larger scheduled air carriers which are governed by more...

 and <1% military

Military aviation

Military aviation is the use of aircraft and other flying machines for the purposes of conducting or enabling warfare, including national airlift capacity to provide logistical supply to forces stationed in a theater or along a front. Air power includes the national means of conducting such...

. At that time there were 214 aircraft based at this airport: 181 single-engine

Aircraft engine

An aircraft engine is the component of the propulsion system for an aircraft that generates mechanical power. Aircraft engines are almost always either lightweight piston engines or gas turbines...

, 28 multi-engine, 3 jet

Jet aircraft

A jet aircraft is an aircraft propelled by jet engines. Jet aircraft generally fly much faster than propeller-powered aircraft and at higher altitudes – as high as . At these altitudes, jet engines achieve maximum efficiency over long distances. The engines in propeller-powered aircraft...

 and 2 helicopter

Helicopter

A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by one or more engine-driven rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forwards, backwards, and laterally...

.

It is also the base of FFTC (Florida Flight Training Center) that offers pilot training as well as charter service within Florida and the surrounding states.

Suncoast Air Center, located just west of the approach end of Runway 22, is the primary FBO and provides ground support and aviation services to aircraft that use the airfield. They offer both Avgas and JetA fuels, with Avgas available full or self service. 3

Sarasota Avionics International maintains its headquarters in a 10,000 SF hangar on the northwest side of the airport.

There are two restaurants located at the airport: Honoluana, open for lunch and dinner, and the Suncoast Cafe, the latter of which is housed within Suncoast Air Center's FBO terminal and is open for breakfast and lunch.