Vandalia Municipal
VLA · KVLA · Vandalia, Illinois · Fayette County · map
Vandalia Municipal is a public-use airport owned by Vandalia Park District, 3 miles northwest of Vandalia, Illinois, 537 feet above sea level. It has 2 runways; the longest, 18/36, is 3,751 feet of asphalt. It has fuel (100LL avgas, Jet A) and about 12 general-aviation aircraft based on the field by the FAA's count. The FAA counts about 9,000 takeoffs and landings a year.
Quick answers answers refresh every morning
What is the airport code for Vandalia Municipal?
Its FAA code is VLA, and its ICAO code is KVLA.
Where is Vandalia Municipal?
It is 3 miles northwest of Vandalia, Illinois, 537 feet above sea level.
How long is the longest runway at Vandalia Municipal?
The longest of its 2 runways, 18/36, is 3,751 feet long.
Does Vandalia Municipal have a control tower?
No, it has no control tower.
What fuel can you buy at Vandalia Municipal?
The FAA's airport file lists 100LL avgas, Jet A.
Where are the nearest FAA examiners to Vandalia Municipal?
4 aviation medical examiners work within 50 nautical miles. See them by name
Weather and planning now, the forecast, warnings, pilot reports, winds aloft, restrictions
Fetching the weather now, the forecast, the warnings in force, pilot reports and the winds aloft for Vandalia Municipal…
Wind map live wind over the area, from Windy.com
Colours show wind speed, the moving lines its direction; drag the time bar for the coming days. Map and forecast by Windy.com.
The airport facts, runways, radio, fuel and services, the FAA's remarks
The airport
- Codes
- FAA VLA · ICAO KVLA
- Kind
- Airport · open to the public · publicly owned
- Owner
- Vandalia Park District
- Elevation
- 537 feet above sea level
- Control tower
- No control tower
- Attended
- every day, irregular
- Lights
- runway lights see the remarks below; beacon sunset to sunrise
- Fuel and services
- 100LL avgas, Jet A; the services card below
- On the chart
- St Louis sectional
- Magnetic variation
- 1W
- In the FAA's files since
- July 1944
Runways 2
For understanding the field, not for navigation.
| Runway | Length × width | Surface | Lights |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18/36 | 3,751 × 100 ft | Asphalt, good | Medium-intensity lights |
| 09/27 | 3,001 × 75 ft | Asphalt, fair | Medium-intensity lights |
- Runway 18: PAPI, four lights on the left, road 18 ft high 575 ft from the end
- Runway 36: road 14 ft high 522 ft from the end
Radio frequencies
| Common traffic advisory (CTAF) · UNICOM · Vla and aWOS-AV | 122.8 | |
| Decatur and center (remote transmitter) Low | 124.3 |
Automated weather (AWOS-AV), by phone 618-283-9595.
Fuel and services as reported to the FAA
- Fuel
- 100LL avgas, Jet A
- Repairs
- airframe and engine: major repairs
- Parking
- hangars, tie-downs
- Also here
- crop spraying, flight instruction
Other fields with jet fuel nearby: Greenville Airport (14 nm southwest), Litchfield Municipal (26 nm northwest), Centralia Municipal (29 nm south).
The FAA's file records what is sold and done at the field, as the airport manager reports it, not who sells it or the price; fuel sellers (FBOs) are not named in any public file. Airports selling jet fuel in Illinois · avgas.
The FAA's remarks as written in the airport file, spelled out
- Activate runway end identifier lights runway 18, 27 and 36; PAPI runway 18; medium-intensity runway lights runway 09/27 - the common traffic frequency. Medium-intensity runway lights runway 18/36 preset to low intst, to incr intst - the common traffic frequency.
- Fuel is SELF-SERVE with credit card.
- 8 feet crops 200 feet from runway end penetrating part 77 surface.
- Approach slope 23:1 to relocated threshold using part 77 surface.
Flights and activity in the air now, the airlines, based aircraft, takeoffs and landings
Activity now checking the volunteer receiver network…
Within ten miles
- Looking…
Arrivals and departures, last hour
- Looking…
From the volunteer receiver network, a few minutes behind at most; aircraft whose owners asked the FAA not to be displayed are left out; no person is named. Open the live map here.
Based aircraft as counted for the FAA, fiscal year 2024
Based aircraft, as a table
| aircraft | |
|---|---|
| single-engine | 10 |
| multi-engine | 2 |
The FAA's count is the general-aviation aircraft kept on the field (singles, twins, business jets, helicopters) from its Terminal Area Forecast, the latest year with an actual count; airline fleets are never counted as based anywhere, so a big airline airport shows a small number. The register section below shows how many aircraft are registered to owners in town, a different measure again.
Takeoffs and landings a year about 9,000, the FAA's fiscal year 2024 (October 2023 to September 2024)
Takeoffs and landings, as a table
| a year | |
|---|---|
| air taxi and commuter | 50 |
| general aviation, travelling | 1,000 |
| general aviation, local | 7,950 |
Local flights stay in the traffic pattern or nearby, often practice; travelling flights arrive from or leave for somewhere else. Counts at airports without a tower are the FAA's estimates. How this compares nationally: Airports by the numbers.
Who flies and works here aircraft registered in town, the companies, the examiners nearby
Aircraft registered in Vandalia from the FAA register
6 aircraft are registered to owners in Vandalia, Illinois: 3 piston singles, 2 drones, 1 piston twin. Not every one of them is based at this airport; the based-aircraft count above is the FAA's figure for this airport alone.
Individuals are counted, not named (the site's policy at this time). All aircraft registered in Illinois.
Examiners and inspectors nearby designated by the FAA · within 50 nautical miles
No pilot examiner is based within 50 nautical miles, as far as the FAA's list places them. Also nearby: 1 sport aviation examiner, 4 aviation medical examiners, 1 mechanic examiner, 1 airworthiness representative (maintenance), 1 training center examiner.
All 8 nearby, by kind, with contact details
What each kind does
- SAE: Sport Aviation Examiner: gives the tests for sport pilot certificates and light-sport aircraft.
- AME: Aviation Medical Examiner: a doctor who issues the medical certificates pilots must hold.
- DME: Designated Mechanic Examiner: tests candidates for the mechanic certificate (airframe and powerplant).
- DAR-T: Designated Airworthiness Representative, maintenance: issues airworthiness certificates and approvals for aircraft in service.
- DCTO-E: Designee at a certificated training organisation.
Designees are listed with the name and contact details the FAA publishes for them on its designee locator (read October 10, 2026): the FAA lists them so that pilots, mechanics and companies can find them. Private individuals are not named, the site's policy at this time. A designee who would rather not appear here can ask us through the contact address on the About page. Each designee is placed at the main public airport of the town the FAA lists (or the nearest one to its zip code), so "nearby" means the town, not an exact address. All examiners by state.
Safety record the NTSB's cases at or near this airport
Accidents and incidents at or near this airport NTSB records · 3 since 1982, 0 fatal
Cases the NTSB recorded with this as the nearest airport, newest first. Each opens the full report in plain English. The country as a whole: Where accidents happen.
Nearby within 30 nautical miles
Connections how this airport links to the rest of the register
- Aircraft registered in Vandalia 6 aircraft · 3 piston singles, 2 drones, 1 piston twins
- NTSB accidents and incidents at or near this airport 3 since 1982 · 0 fatal
- Accidents and incidents in Illinois 2,117 since 1982 · 250 in the last ten years
- Nearby landing places within 30 nautical miles 8 airports, heliports and seaplane bases
- Public-use airports in Illinois 103 landing places
- Illinois 8,055 aircraft registered
The whole map of how records connect · these connections as data: /graph/airport/VLA.json.
Facts from the FAA's airport file effective October 29, 2026, written out in plain English; weather from the National Weather Service's aviation weather service; registered aircraft from the FAA register as of October 29, 2026; accidents from the NTSB's public database. Owners are shown only when they are an organisation; no person is named. Check the official sources before a flight: this page is for understanding an airport, not for planning one.