Management should listen to their customers; involve them in decisions.
Hangar waitlist times due to subleasing is unacceptable.
This a historic place and should be protected
The additional restrictions placed on airport users as well as the increased hangar rents makes it feel as if our treasured
municipal asset is treated like a cash cow. I am a wage earning, full time professional who is far from affluent. It’s sad that
my earnings are preyed upon as if the fees and rate hikes don’t add up and make it harder to share the sky with others
(including local aviation minded youth).
As an airport tenant I would expect and appreciate better communication from the administration on planned and in-work project status.
Currently there is little-to-none, only signs posted at the gates with very limited information.
Airport funds should be used exclusively for airport maintenance and improvements.
Since February 2024, the landing fees are charged by TOA. Other airports never charge the fee except for SMO and AVX. I was afraid
about the landing fees however since February due to the landing fees, TOA has less traffics. I was used to hold at our tie down
spot and waited for 10-15 minutes for ATC clearance to takeoff. But I don’t have to wait to takeoff any more. The landing fees
are working very well to avoid congestion of the airspace and also for safety.
No transparency at this airport and even though I am a paying customer. I feel like the City nor the Airport cares at all about
the condition of the airport, the importance of the airport, and that they would rather see it gone. My voice is certainly not heard
when objecting to the non-airport use of hangars, the noise abatement system, no night operation in early 2024, and most recently
the new landing fees. The City and the Airport side with the noisy few instead of the majority of those in support of the airport. It is dismaying, and makes me feel that I have no chance of seeing anything positive (for aviation) come to this airport so long as the current City Council and Airport management have their way (for example, the coming ballot proposition that will remove the Airport General fund while giving pay increases to the City Council).
The airport looks worse every year and yet fees are higher and higher for less and less.
The landing fees for tenants are horrible.
The landing fees are my biggest gripe. Totally unwarranted since the funds are not being spent on the facility. No excuse for
approach and runway lighting to ever be out of service. No AWOS.
It's impossible to get anything done. Nobody is interested in future development.
Over the last 3-5 years the city has done everything it can to foster an “us vs them” environment between non-airport users and
airport users. For many years prior to the KSMO closure agreement,, I was an indirect tenant and heavy user of the Santa Monica
airport. The City of Santa Monica took the same approach in its effort to shut the airport down. They fostered bad relations
between airport operations and users of the airport, they poisoned the public’s perception of airport users, and they generally
made being an airport user miserable. The city of Torrance is following in Santa Monica’s footsteps. Torrance used to be a great
airport. Not any more.
City council just seems like they want to shut down the airport. They are actively against everything airport related and want to
limit aircraft traffic so they can come back and say they that the amount of traffic does not justify having the airport.
I can't believe we're being charged landing fees when we pay almost $800 a month for hangar rental. It would seem the revenue from
the airport would cover the cost of operating the airport. The landing fees feel like City extortion when I've been flying at
and supporting Torrance airport for over fifty years now. Why don't you just charge those fees to transient aircraft, not your
local residents and supporters of the airport??
East t’s are poorly constructed, falling apart, doors are hard to open. They are over priced for the poor quality. The roof has
been leaking for years. When it rains water and dirt drain onto the floor through the bottom of the door. The asphalt is crumbling
in front of the door track and the taxiways in the hangar rows are full of pebbles and and sand. I Cringe every time I start the prop.
See my comments above
The current airport manager needs to go and they need to find a replacement with piloting experience. Also a replacement needs
to work with the tenants here to promote the airport and solve issues. He's like a bad cop, says no to everything brought
to his attention forcing people to go over his head and resolve things at City Hall..
Safety. There has been a vagrant living in his car in the GA parking lot for YEARS. When I asked Rafael and Gerry about it,
they of course said there is nothing they can do about it. This is an area that I know the letter of the law well and there was
A LOT they can do about it. As such, I engaged with Torrance PD and spoke with the correct contact about dealing with the issue.
He presented a very realistic solution, all that had to happen was for Airport Management to engage with them. I shared this
news as well as the contact information. Gerry and Rafael did NOTHING about it and now not only is the one man still living in
his car (gold Camry) now there is a second person that is living in their car at night. Why is the problem? Safety. It is only a
matter of time until more vagrants do the same and they will invariably figure out that there are valuables in those hangars
and make their way through the gates. Gerry, Rafael and the city do not see this as an issue or their responsibility. It is only
a matter of time until we will have to test this theory.
no interaction because its completely useless. Airport crew are ok but the city need to pay them better!
If there were meetings, at least every quarter with the pilots and city management, maybe then something good would come out of it.
No one seems to pay attention when we talk about safety items
Needs AWOS.
Don’t appease the grumpy neighbors, KTOA needs to remain open as a community resource. Perhaps flight training should
be on a limited basis
The people we interact with in Administration and Operations are great.
City council and city management show neglect for the airport and its stakeholders
honesty and fairness are tricky issues. Humans are highly fallible, including the guy in the mirror (me). Overall I think the
airport staff treats me as a pilot, owner and Tennant fairly and with honesty. Is it a highly bureaucratic environment that can
seem antiquated and inflexible? Yes, but I think that's the nature of the beast and people just doing their jobs and trying to
protect their city pension. It goes back to leadership and vision for a huge asset that is largely undervalued, underserved and
vastly underutilized.
This facility makes a lot of money for the city, it's a blue chip asset. And it brings in business for Torrance as it is designed
to do but that could improve if city leadership would be more helpful.
Charging tenants fees for missed approaches should is probably illegal. The city has no legal jurisdiction for aircraft in the
air (in flight). Fees based on weight for in flight aircraft is not logical.
Charging landing fees for tenants and small (non-Robinson) businesses is very discriminatory and probably illegal ... definitely
not ethical for the city of Torrance to run TOA airport as a "for profit" business by favoring Robinson.
bring back jet fuel.
Recent touch and go rule changes and landing fees make it an unwelcome airport.
where are renters required to pay county property taxes?
rent charge goes up each year. fire inspection charge goes up each year.
The city must only use money collect from the airport for the airport.
On-site staff are kind, courteous, and concerned but are isolated and ignored by the City. The City pretends to listen but
only responds to the complaints of a few residents who decided to purchase next to the airport and who, apparently, support their
campaigns.
Landing fees and other new flight restrictions have reduced the value of TOA to me. Staying proficient has become more expensive
and far less convenient.
Lack of safety funding emphasis
Inadequate 24 hour. weather reporting service. Inadequate FAA licensed aircraft, radio, and engine services. Inadequate food
service. Inadequate listening to knowledgeable pilot and aircraft owners
Landing fees for based aircraft are an insult with no justification. We already pay for airport ops through our very high hangar
rental and if the city wasn't siphoning off so much of the ground lease revenue to the general fund, we wouldn't need landing
fees and we also wouldn't have so many infrastructure issues with the airport. I would be a lot happier paying any usage fees
if I was confident that they were actually going towards maintaining the facility, but the city seems to view the airport as an
ATM until it can repurpose the land and has gone to war against its tenants (and by extension the city's second largest employer,
Robinson).
A common theme as a tenant is that if you complain they will single you out and harass you I myself have been a victim of this and
I know of many others.
The city has treated me so poorly that I drive OUT of the city limits to buy my goods (groceries, gas, etc.). I try to patronize
airport businesses like South Bay Aviation...however, horrible business treatment of SBA leaves me estimating they will close their
doors.
I've spent more than a million dollars in the Torrance economy since I began flying there in 1985. No more.
...and I have crossed Torrance off my list of cities to buy a home or start a new business.
In 2024 night operations were prohibited at KTOA. We were told it was due to lightning using issues. Repairs took months to complete and airport management was dishonest about the situation. It appeared the lighting issues were simply a way to close the airport from night operations for political reasons.
I don’t understand why the City assigns people to manage the airport that are hostile to airport users. Rafael is an exception.
Many things seem to fall between the cracks in terms of maintenance repair and keeping the airport in good shape. The east T gate is but one example. It appears the goal Of those truly in charge is to close the airport and turn it to other uses, Which would be a huge huge mistake. Torrance Airport has been part of the economy of this area for decades and decadesaan addition to the area. We always hear about noise complaints, but a close look reveals a very few very loud voiced
M people that do this. All of which move there long long long after the airport existed. The airport is also home to Robinson Helicopter a large source of revenue for the city of Torrance and also the largest seller of small helicopters in the worldl The Torrance Airport should be improved and used as the true gem it ia.
Every year fees go up up and up.!!