"Las Vegas Airport" redirects here. For the airport in Las Vegas, New Mexico, seeLas Vegas Municipal Airport. For the airport in La Vega, Dominican Republic, seeEl Ponton Airport.
Harry Reid International Airport (IATA:LAS,ICAO:KLAS,FAALID:LAS), formerly known asMcCarran International Airport, is the primaryinternational airport serving theLas Vegas Valley, a metropolitan area in the U.S. state ofNevada. It is located five miles (8 km; 4 nmi) south of downtown Las Vegas,[3] in the unincorporated area ofParadise,[1] and covers 2,800 acres (4.4 sq mi; 11.3 km2) of land.[3]
Reid is owned byClark County and operated by the county'sDepartment of Aviation.[4][5] The airport is named after the late U.S. congressman and senator from Nevada,Harry Reid. It has four runways and two terminals with five gate areas (concourses) all connected with apeople mover system. Reid is one of two airports in the United States withslot machines inside the terminals.
The airport opened in January 1943 as Alamo Field and initially catered togeneral aviation. In December 1948, it was rechristened for U.S. senatorPat McCarran, and commercial airlines shifted to it from theLas Vegas Army Airfield. Passenger counts increased in the 1950s as theStrip expanded, leading to the construction of a new terminal. McCarran later came to be seen as the model for the common-use approach to airport resources in the United States and pioneeredradio-frequency identification of baggage. Terminal 3 was added in 2012, and the airport was renamed in honor of Senator Reid in 2021.
Reid is served by over 30 airlines and is an operating base forAllegiant Air,Frontier Airlines,JSX,Southwest Airlines, andSpirit Airlines.[6] Southwest became its dominant carrier in the 1990s. In 2024, over 58.4 million passengers passed through the airport, the most in its history.[7] Reid has international flights to cities in Asia, Europe, and North America.
George Crockett, a flight instructor, built Alamo Field in 1942 on the site currently occupied by Harry Reid Airport.[8][9] Crockett named it in honor of his forefatherDavy Crockett, who had fought in theBattle of the Alamo. The airfield opened in January 1943. It catered togeneral aviation and included three gravel runways, a flight school, and a terminal building.[8] Meanwhile, all commercial airlines flew into theLas Vegas Army Airfield. They shared the facility with theArmy Air Forces, which had been operating an air base there since theattack on Pearl Harbor.[9][10] The base closed in 1946.[8]
With the onset of theCold War, the military said it was amenable to reopening the base, but it wanted the airlines to move elsewhere.[11] Crockett was willing to let them use his airfield, so theClark County Commission entered into negotiations with him.[9] In the meantime, the county held a bond election to fund construction work that would enable Alamo Field to handle commercial operations. Proponents of the bond issue, who included the chamber of commerce and casino executives, sought the economic benefits of both an air base and a modern airport capable of serving the increasing numbers of tourists that they expected to arrive. Voters approved the bond in 1947.[8][11] With the help of U.S. senatorPat McCarran of Nevada, the county finalized a deal with Crockett to purchase his airfield the following year.[8][12] On December 19, 1948, the airport was renamed McCarran Field and began receiving passenger flights.[13]
The growth of the Las Vegas casino industry during the 1950s fueled a rise in air traffic; the city went from receiving 36,000 passengers in 1948 to nearly one million in 1959. In September 1960,United Airlines became the first carrier to offer jet flights to Las Vegas.[14] The airport was ill-equipped to handle the increasing passenger counts and the advent of commercial jetliners. Consequently, the county built a new terminal, which opened in March 1963.[14][15] Another expansion project, which included adding Concourses A and B and lengthening the runways, ended in 1974.[16][17] However, traffic levels had already rendered the project insufficient by the time it was completed. Airport officials therefore prepared for further expansion.[16]
Thederegulation of the airline industry in 1978 led to an increase in the number of carriers at McCarran and prompted officials to accelerate their expansion plans.[18] In October 1985, a central terminal, Concourse C, and apeople mover between the two buildings opened.[12][19]
In the late 1980s and early 1990s,America West Airlines was the busiest airline at McCarran.[20] The carrier began offering cheap night flights to Las Vegas in 1986.[21] It ultimately developed a hub at the airport that functioned between 10pm and 2am every night. The strategy capitalized on the fact that Las Vegas was open 24 hours a day and enabled the airline to decrease costs.[22][23] America West charged low fares because it was the only carrier operating such a large number of flights at that time of night.[24] Most of its customers were tourists, while the remainder were changing planes.[22] By the late 1990s,Southwest Airlines had overtaken America West as McCarran's largest carrier and occupied all the gates in Concourse C. The company's high frequency of flights, cheap tickets, and collaboration with local resorts contributed to its success in the Las Vegas market.[25][26][27]
Multiple projects were finished during the 1990s. The Charter/International Terminal, later renamed Terminal 2, opened in December 1991.[12][28] A cargo center was dedicated two years later.[12] In 1994, atunnel beneath the east–west runways that linked the airport to theLas Vegas Beltway opened.[29][30] A nine-level parking facility was completed in 1996, and in June 1998, the first two wings of Concourse D were inaugurated.[31][32] McCarran also gained its first scheduled flights to Europe and Asia. In November 1996,Condor launched a route to Cologne, andNorthwest Airlines commenced service to its hub at Tokyo's Narita Airport in June 1998.[33][34][35] With the backing of two casinos,National Airlines set up a hub in Las Vegas the following year. The company specialized in low-fare flights to cities on the East Coast. Other casinos responded by arranging package deals with larger airlines. This and other factors led to National's demise in 2002.[36][37]
Concourse D in May 2009 with Terminal 3 under construction in the background
Officials started to introduce new technologies. In the late 1990s, they began following a common-use strategy, where airlines share airport facilities.[38][39] The airport first deployed computer systems known as common-use terminal equipment (CUTE) at gates and check-in counters. McCarran pioneered the use of CUTE in the domestic terminals of American airports.[39] In 2003, it became the first airport in the country to installcommon-use self-service kiosks, which customers use to check in and obtain their boarding passes.[40][41] With nearly 30 carriers serving McCarran, officials did not want to have separate sets of kiosks for each one. The airport ultimately acquired a reputation in the United States as the model for the common-use approach.[38] It began implementing a baggage-tracking system based onradio-frequency identification (RFID) in 2005. The technology was intended to facilitate luggage screening and decrease the chances of losing bags.[41][42] McCarran and the Hong Kong airport were the first to use RFID on a large scale.[42][43]
In the 2000s,Allegiant Air moved its headquarters from Fresno to Las Vegas. The company also changed its focus to providing nonstop flights between small towns and vacation destinations and expanded the number of cities it served from McCarran to 35.[44][45] In 2004,Philippine Airlines extended its flight between Manila and Vancouver to Las Vegas. The service was primarily targeted at tourists from western Canada, though the carrier also hoped to attract members of the large Filipino community in Las Vegas.[46][47] The third wing of Concourse D, along with a rampcontrol tower, opened in April 2005.[48] Two years later, aconsolidated rental car facility began operations.[49] The fourth and final wing of Concourse D was added in September 2008.[50] In the same month,US Airways closed the night hub due to the2000s energy crisis. The airline had merged with America West in 2005.[51][52] US Airways shut its crew base at McCarran in 2010.[53] By 2012, the company had eliminated all routes except for those to its hubs in Charlotte, Philadelphia, and Phoenix and its focus city at Reagan National Airport in Washington, D.C.[54][55]
New tower under construction, July 2013
Fearing McCarran would soon exceed its capacity, the Clark County Commission began work on Terminal 3 in 2005. The economy was doing well, and Terminal 2 had become congested. Although the economy later entered arecession, the county chose to proceed with the project.[56][57] The airport's cargo facility was located within the Terminal 3 site, so it was replaced by the Marnell Air Cargo Center, which opened in 2010.[58][59] The new terminal was inaugurated in June 2012, replacing Terminal 2.[56][60] It cost $2.4 billion and was the largestpublic works project in Nevada.[61] In 2013, Philippine Airlines discontinued its route to Las Vegas.[62] In 2016, Terminal 2 was demolished,[56] and a new control tower andTerminal Radar Approach Control facility were completed.[63] At 352 feet (107 m) tall, it was thesecond tallest in the country when completed.[64][65] In 2017, the airport equipped seven gates in Concourse D to receive international flights and built a tunnel to connect them to the customs facility in Terminal 3.[66][67]LATAM Airlines Brasil added a seasonal route to São Paulo, McCarran's first direct link to South America, in June 2018.[68][69]
At the onset of theCOVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, the control tower was closed for several days after a controller tested positive for the virus, leading to many delays and cancellations.[70] The following month, the decrease in traffic caused by the pandemic prompted the closure of all the gates in Concourse B and Terminal 3.[71] Concourse B reopened in the summer, and the E gates in Terminal 3 subsequently reopened in July 2021.[72]
In February 2021, the Clark County Commission voted unanimously to rename the airport after U.S. senatorHarry Reid of Nevada. The commissioners believed that Pat McCarran had left a legacy of anti-Semitism and racism.[73][74] The airport was officially renamed in December 2021.[75][76]
The airport has a total of 110 gates across two passenger terminals, which are numbered 1 and 3, and a satellite concourse called Concourse D. Terminal 1 contains three concourses labeled A, B, and C. Terminal 3 houses the E gates and handles international arrivals.[79] Terminal 3 and Concourse D are able to receive international flights, and a tunnel links the international gates in Concourse D to the customs checkpoint.[66] Of these international gates, Concourse D has a 3-jetway stand (D21/22) that can accommodate anAirbus A380, the largest commercial airplane in the world.[80] There is an airsidetram system with three lines. The green and blue lines connect the central part of Terminal 1 with Concourses C and D, respectively. The red line runs between Terminal 3 and Concourse D.[81]
In 1968,slot machines were first installed at the airport. The Las Vegas andReno airports are the only two airports in the United States with slot machines.[82][83] Terminal 1 and Concourse D also house exhibits of theHoward W. Cannon Aviation Museum, which covers the history of aviation in southern Nevada.[84][85]
Airlines unload their freight at the Marnell Air Cargo Center, which can handle 100,000 short tons (91,000 t) of cargo.[59]Janet Air flights to secret military installations operate from a dedicated terminal building.[86] The airport also has a parking lot where the public can watch aircraft take off and land.[87]
Maverick Helicopters and Papillon Grand Canyon Helicopters each operate their own terminal at Harry Reid Airport for sightseeing flights. The Maverick terminal covers 6,000 square feet (560 m2), and the Sundance terminal occupies 13,000 square feet (1,200 m2). The Papillon terminal was established in 1997.[88][89][90]
In 2024, a record 58,447,782 million travelers passed through Reid Airport.[160] The airport also had 613,973 aircraft movements and handled 252,898,593 million pounds of cargo.[161]
LAS Airport Historical Passenger Traffic 1970-Present[165][166]
Year
Passengers
Year
Passengers
Year
Passengers
Year
Passengers
1970
4,086,973
1985
10,924,047
2000
36,865,866
2015
45,318,788
1971
4,102,285
1986
12,428,748
2001
35,179,960
2016
47,368,219
1972
4,608,764
1987
15,582,302
2002
35,009,011
2017
48,430,118
1973
5,397,017
1988
16,231,199
2003
36,265,932
2018
49,646,118
1974
5,944,433
1989
17,106,948
2004
41,441,531
2019
51,528,524
1975
6,500,806
1990
19,089,684
2005
44,267,370
2020
22,200,595
1976
7,685,817
1991
20,171,969
2006
46,304,376
2021
39,710,493
1977
7,964,687
1992
20,912,585
2007
47,729,527
2022
52,668,109
1978
9,110,842
1993
22,492,156
2008
44,074,642
2023
57,644,113‡
1979
10,574,127
1994
26,850,486
2009
40,469,012
2024
58,447,782
1980
10,302,106
1995
28,027,239
2010
39,757,359
2025
1981
9,469,727
1996
30,459,965
2011
41,481,204
2026
1982
9,438,648
1997
30,315,094
2012
41,667,596
2027
1983
10,312,842
1998
30,227,287
2013
41,857,059
2028
1984
10,141,809
1999
33,715,129
2014
42,885,350
2029
‡Final adjusted passenger data for 2023.
From 1970 to the end of 2024, 1,538,394,375 passengers (enplaned+deplaned) have passed through Harry Reid Int'l Airport, an annual average of 27,970,807 passengers per year.
Vehicles reach the airport via Paradise Road and Russell Road from the north and via theHarry Reid Airport Connector, which branches off from theLas Vegas Beltway, from the south.[167][168] A 5,000-spaceconsolidated rental car facility is located three miles (5 km) away and is linked to the terminals by shuttle buses.[49] Buses also shuttle passengers between Terminals 1 and 3.[169] The Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada'spublic bus system serves the airport.[170]
On November 15, 1956,Trans World Airlines Flight 163, aMartin 4-0-4, crash-landed at then McCarran Field during an attempted single-engine go-around after takeoff returning to the airport. Out of 38 passengers and crew, 16 received minor injuries. There was no fire, but the aircraft was destroyed.[171]
On the evening of November 15, 1964,Bonanza Air Lines Flight 114, aFairchild F-27 turboprop flying fromPhoenix Sky Harbor International Airport to McCarran International Airport, crashed into the top of a hill in desert country about eight miles (13 km) SSW of Las Vegas in poor weather conditions, all 26 passengers and three crew perished. The probable cause was the misreading of a faulty, outdated approach chart by the captain which resulted in a premature descent before impacting terrain.[172]
On April 16, 1965, aBonanza Air Lines Fairchild F-27 on a training flight, cartwheeled off the runway at LAS because of an asymmetrical flap condition on takeoff. Both occupants survived, but the aircraft was substantially damaged and was written off.[173]
On December 9, 1968, aLockheed L-1649 Starliner operated byFly By Night Safaris crashed back onto the runway at LAS during takeoff when a partial loss of power forced the pilot to carry out a belly landing. Parts of the propellers broke off as they contacted the runway, puncturing the fuselage. There were no fatalities among the 104 passengers and crew on board, but the aircraft was destroyed.[174]
On October 24, 1978, aLearjet 24 operated byQualitron Aero Services Inc. crashed at LAS because of a premature rotation when one engine was cut after V1 speed after takeoff. Both occupants survived, but the aircraft was substantially damaged and written off.[175]
On August 17, 1999, aBritish Aerospace 125 operated by DP Air was severely damaged after it was forced to land at LAS with the landing gear retracted because of a loss of its hydraulic systems to extend the gear. All eight occupants survived with no injuries, but the aircraft was destroyed.[176]
On September 8, 2015,British Airways Flight 2276, aBoeing 777-200 destined forGatwick Airport, suffered an uncontained left engine failure during the takeoff roll because of a cracked compressor disk, and the pilots aborted takeoff. A fire broke out in the affected engine after the aircraft stopped, and an evacuation of all 170 passengers and crew was performed on the runway. There was one serious injury and 19 minor injuries during the evacuation. The aircraft was severely damaged by the engine fire, but the plane was repaired and later placed back into service.[177][178]
On Saturday, October 5, 2024, a Frontier Airlines Airbus A321 operating asFlight 1326 from San Diego, caught fire while landing. The pilots declared an emergency and the flight landed without injuries to its 197 occupants.[179][180]
Harry Reid International Airport - under its former name, McCarran International Airport - appears in the 2010 videogameFallout: New Vegas. In game, it is often referred to as Camp McCarran, due to the presence ofNew California Republic troops using it as a military base.[181]
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