Harry Reid International Airport

Harry Reid International Airport
Airport logo
Aerial view of the airport in 2012
The airport in 2012
Summary
Airport typePublic
OwnerClark County, Nevada
OperatorClark County Department of Aviation
ServesLas Vegas Valley
LocationParadise, Nevada, United States
OpenedJanuary 1943; 81 years ago (1943-01)
Operating base for
Elevation AMSL2,181 ft / 665 m
Coordinates36°04′48″N 115°09′08″W / 36.08000°N 115.15222°W / 36.08000; -115.15222
Websiteharryreidairport.com
Maps
FAA airport diagram
FAA airport diagram
Map
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
1L/19R 8,988 2,740 Concrete
1R/19L 9,771 2,978 Concrete
8L/26R 14,515 4,424 Concrete
8R/26L 10,526 3,208 Concrete
Statistics (2023)
Passengers57,600,000
Aircraft movements612,000
Cargo (lb)263,000,000

Harry Reid International Airport (IATA: LAS, ICAO: KLAS, FAA LID: LAS) is an international airport that serves the Las Vegas Valley, a metropolitan area in Nevada, United States. It is located five miles (8 km) south of downtown Las Vegas in the unincorporated area of Paradise and covers 2,800 acres (11 km2) of land. Reid is owned by Clark County and operated by the county's department of aviation. The airport is named after the late U.S. congressman and senator from Nevada Harry Reid. It has four runways, two terminals numbered 1 and 3, and a people mover. Reid is one of two airports in the United States with slot machines.

The airport opened in January 1943 as Alamo Field and initially catered to general aviation. In December 1948, it was rechristened for U.S. senator Pat McCarran, and commercial airlines shifted to it from the Las Vegas Army Airfield. Passenger counts increased in the 1950s as the Strip 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 pioneered radio-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 for Allegiant Air, Avelo Airlines, Frontier Airlines, Southwest Airlines, and Spirit Airlines. Southwest became its dominant carrier in the 1990s. In 2023, 57.6 million passengers passed through the airport, the most in its history. Reid has international flights to cities in Asia, Europe, and North America.

History

Origins

George Crockett, a flight instructor, built Alamo Field in 1942 on the site currently occupied by Harry Reid Airport. Crockett named it in honor of his forefather Davy Crockett, who had fought in the Battle of the Alamo. The airfield opened in January 1943. It catered to general aviation and included three gravel runways, a flight school, and a terminal building. Meanwhile, all commercial airlines flew into the Las Vegas Army Airfield. They shared the facility with the Army Air Forces, which had been operating an air base there since the attack on Pearl Harbor. The base closed in 1946.

With the onset of the Cold War, the military said it was amenable to reopening the base, but it wanted the airlines to move elsewhere. Crockett was willing to let them use his airfield, so the Clark County Commission entered into negotiations with him. 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. With the help of U.S. senator Pat McCarran of Nevada, the county finalized a deal with Crockett to purchase his airfield the following year. On December 19, 1948, the airport was renamed McCarran Field and began receiving passenger flights.

Expansion

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. 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. Another expansion project, which included adding Concourses A and B and lengthening the runways, ended in 1974. However, traffic levels had already rendered the project insufficient by the time it was completed. Airport officials therefore prepared for further expansion. The deregulation 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. In October 1985, a central terminal, Concourse C, and a people mover between the two buildings opened.

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, America West Airlines was the busiest airline at McCarran. The carrier began offering cheap night flights to Las Vegas in 1986. It ultimately developed a hub at the airport that functioned between 10 pm and 2 am every night. The strategy capitalized on the fact that Las Vegas was open 24 hours a day and enabled the airline to decrease costs. America West charged low fares because it was the only carrier operating such a large number of flights at that time of night. Most of its customers were tourists, while the remainder were changing planes. 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.

Multiple projects were finished during the 1990s. The Charter/International Terminal, later renamed Terminal 2, opened in December 1991. A cargo center was dedicated two years later. In 1994, a tunnel beneath the east–west runways that linked the airport to the Las Vegas Beltway opened. A nine-level parking facility was completed in 1996, and in June 1998, the first two wings of Concourse D were inaugurated. McCarran also gained its first scheduled flights to Europe and Asia. In November 1996, Condor launched a route to Cologne, and Northwest Airlines commenced service to Tokyo's Narita Airport in June 1998. 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.

Innovation and new terminal

Officials started to introduce new technologies. In the late 1990s, they began following a common-use strategy, where airlines share airport facilities. 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. In 2003, it became the first airport in the country to install common-use self-service kiosks, which customers use to check in and obtain their boarding passes. 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. It began implementing a baggage-tracking system based on radio-frequency identification (RFID) in 2005. The technology was intended to facilitate luggage screening and decrease the chances of losing bags. McCarran and the Hong Kong airport were the first to use RFID on a large scale.

Concourse D in 2009 with Terminal 3 under construction in the background

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. 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. The third wing of Concourse D, along with a ramp control tower, opened in April 2005. Two years later, a consolidated rental car facility began operations. The fourth and final wing of Concourse D was added in September 2008. In the same month, US Airways closed the night hub due to the 2000s energy crisis. The airline had merged with America West in 2005. US Airways shut its crew base at McCarran in 2010. 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.

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 a recession, the county chose to proceed with the project. 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. The new terminal was inaugurated in June 2012, replacing Terminal 2. It cost $2.4 billion and was the largest public works project in Nevada. In 2013, Philippine Airlines discontinued its route to Las Vegas. A new control tower was completed in 2016. The following year, 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. LATAM Airlines Brasil added a seasonal route to São Paulo, McCarran's first direct link to South America, in June 2018.

At the onset of the COVID-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. The following month, the decrease in traffic caused by the pandemic prompted the closure of all the gates in Concourse B and Terminal 3. In February 2021, the Clark County Commission voted unanimously to rename the airport after U.S. senator Harry Reid of Nevada. The commissioners believed that Pat McCarran had left a legacy of anti-Semitism and racism. The airport was officially renamed ten months later.

Facilities

Baggage claim carousels in Terminal 1
Slot machines in Concourse A

Harry Reid International Airport has four runways:

  • 1L/19R: 8,988 by 150 feet (2,740 m × 46 m)
  • 1R/19L: 9,771 by 150 feet (2,978 m × 46 m)
  • 8L/26R: 14,515 by 150 feet (4,424 m × 46 m)
  • 8R/26L: 10,526 by 150 feet (3,208 m × 46 m)

The runways are made of concrete. 1L, 26R, and 26L have a category I instrument landing system with distance measuring equipment. 8L/26R is the third-longest civil runway in the country.

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. 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. There is an airside tram 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.

In 1968, slot machines were first installed at the airport. The Las Vegas and Reno airports are the only two airports in the United States with slot machines. Terminal 1 and Concourse D also house exhibits of the Howard W. Cannon Aviation Museum, which covers the history of aviation in southern Nevada.

Airlines unload their freight at the Marnell Air Cargo Center, which can handle 100,000 short tons (91,000 t) of cargo. Janet Air flights to secret military installations operate from a dedicated terminal building. The airport also has a parking lot where the public can watch aircraft take off and land.

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.

Airlines and destinations

Reid Airport is a base for Allegiant Air, Avelo Airlines, Frontier Airlines, Southwest Airlines, and Spirit Airlines. Avelo will close its base in April 2024.

Passenger

AirlinesDestinationsRefs
Advanced Air Charter: Merced
Aeroméxico Mexico City
Air Canada Toronto–Pearson, Vancouver
Air Canada Rouge Montréal–Trudeau, Toronto–Pearson
Alaska Airlines Anchorage, Boise, Everett, Los Angeles, Portland (OR), San Francisco, San Luis Obispo, Seattle/Tacoma
Seasonal: Puerto Vallarta, San José del Cabo
Allegiant Air Appleton, Asheville, Austin, Belleville/St. Louis, Bellingham, Billings, Bismarck, Boise, Bozeman, Cedar Rapids/Iowa City, Chattanooga (begins May 16, 2024), Chicago/Rockford, Cincinnati, Des Moines, Destin/Fort Walton Beach, El Paso, Eugene, Fargo, Fayetteville/Bentonville, Flint, Fort Wayne, Fresno, Glacier Park/Kalispell, Grand Forks, Grand Island, Grand Junction, Grand Rapids, Great Falls, Idaho Falls, Indianapolis, Knoxville, Laredo, Lexington, McAllen, Medford, Memphis, Minot, Missoula, Moline/Quad Cities, Monterey, Oakland, Oklahoma City, Omaha, Orange County, Orlando/Sanford, Peoria, Phoenix/Mesa, Provo, Rapid City, San Antonio, San Diego, Santa Maria (CA), Shreveport, Sioux Falls, South Bend, Spokane, Springfield/Branson, Stockton, Tri-Cities (WA), Tulsa, Wichita
American Airlines Austin, Charlotte, Chicago–O'Hare, Dallas/Fort Worth, Los Angeles, Miami, Philadelphia, Phoenix–Sky Harbor, Washington–National
American Eagle Phoenix–Sky Harbor
Avelo Airlines Redmond/Bend, Salem, Santa Rosa
Avianca El Salvador Seasonal: San Salvador
Breeze Airways Akron/Canton, Fort Myers, Gulfport/Biloxi, Hartford, Huntsville, Jacksonville (FL), Norfolk, Raleigh/Durham, Richmond, Syracuse
British Airways London–Heathrow
Seasonal: London–Gatwick
Canada Jetlines Toronto–Pearson
Condor Seasonal: Frankfurt
Copa Airlines Panama City–Tocumen
Delta Air Lines Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Cincinnati, Detroit, Los Angeles, Minneapolis/St. Paul, New York–JFK, Raleigh/Durham, Salt Lake City, Seattle/Tacoma
Delta Connection Sacramento, San Diego
Discover Airlines Frankfurt
Edelweiss Air Seasonal: Zürich
Flair Airlines Toronto–Pearson, Vancouver
Seasonal: Calgary, Edmonton, Kitchener/Waterloo, Ottawa, Victoria, Winnipeg
Frontier Airlines Atlanta, Austin, Charlotte (ends April 9, 2024), Chicago–Midway, Chicago–O'Hare (resumes May 16, 2024), Cincinnati, Cleveland, Dallas/Fort Worth, Denver, Detroit, El Paso, Houston–Intercontinental, Los Angeles (begins April 10, 2024), Milwaukee, Oklahoma City, Omaha, Ontario (CA), Orange County, Orlando, Phoenix–Sky Harbor, Portland (OR), St. Louis, Salt Lake City, San Antonio, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle/Tacoma
Seasonal: Philadelphia
Hawaiian Airlines Honolulu, Kahului
JetBlue Boston, Fort Lauderdale, Los Angeles (ends June 13, 2024), New York–JFK
Seasonal: Cancún
JSX Charter: Burbank, Concord (CA), Dallas–Love, Denver–Rocky Mountain, Los Angeles, Oakland, Orange County, San Diego/Carlsbad, Scottsdale
KLM Amsterdam
Korean Air Seoul–Incheon
Porter Airlines Toronto–Pearson
Southwest Airlines Albuquerque, Amarillo, Atlanta, Austin, Baltimore, Bellingham, Birmingham (AL), Boise, Bozeman, Buffalo, Burbank, Chicago–Midway, Chicago–O'Hare, Cleveland, Colorado Springs, Columbus–Glenn, Dallas–Love, Denver, Des Moines, Detroit, El Paso, Eugene, Fresno, Honolulu, Houston–Hobby, Houston–Intercontinental, Indianapolis, Kahului, Kailua-Kona, Kansas City, Lihue, Little Rock, Long Beach, Los Angeles, Louisville, Lubbock, Midland/Odessa, Milwaukee, Nashville, New Orleans, Oakland, Oklahoma City, Omaha, Ontario (CA), Orange County, Orlando, Palm Springs, Phoenix–Sky Harbor, Pittsburgh, Portland (OR), Raleigh/Durham, Reno/Tahoe, Sacramento, St. Louis, Salt Lake City, San Antonio, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose (CA), Santa Barbara, Seattle/Tacoma, Spokane, Tampa, Tucson, Tulsa, Wichita
Seasonal: Fort Lauderdale, Memphis (begins October 3, 2024), Minneapolis/St. Paul, Philadelphia
Spirit Airlines Albuquerque, Atlanta, Austin, Baltimore, Boise, Burbank, Charleston (SC), Charlotte, Chicago–O'Hare, Cleveland (ends April 9, 2024), Columbus–Glenn, Dallas/Fort Worth, Detroit, Fort Lauderdale, Houston–Intercontinental, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Louisville, Memphis, Miami, Milwaukee, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Nashville, Newark, New Orleans, Oakland, Orange County, Orlando, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Portland (OR), Reno/Tahoe, Richmond, Sacramento, St. Louis, Salt Lake City, San Antonio, San Diego, San Jose (CA), Seattle/Tacoma, Tampa
Seasonal: Phoenix–Sky Harbor
Sun Country Airlines Dallas/Fort Worth, Minneapolis/St. Paul
Seasonal: Eau Claire, Green Bay, Houston–Intercontinental, Los Angeles, Madison, Milwaukee, San Antonio, Williston
United Airlines Chicago–O'Hare, Denver, Houston–Intercontinental, Los Angeles, Newark, San Francisco, Washington–Dulles
Seasonal: Cleveland
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United Express Los Angeles, San Francisco
Virgin Atlantic London–Heathrow
Seasonal: Manchester (UK) (resumes June 2, 2024)
Viva Aerobus Mexico City, Monterrey
Volaris Guadalajara, Mexico City
WestJet Calgary, Edmonton, Toronto–Pearson, Vancouver, Winnipeg
Seasonal: Kelowna, Regina, Saskatoon, Victoria

Cargo

AirlinesDestinationsRefs
Ameriflight Phoenix–Sky Harbor
FedEx Express Indianapolis, Memphis, Oakland
UPS Airlines Louisville

Statistics

In 2023, a record 57.6 million travelers passed through Reid Airport. The airport also had 612,000 aircraft movements and handled 263 million pounds (119 million kg) of cargo.

Top destinations

Busiest domestic routes from LAS (September 2022 – August 2023)
Rank City Passengers Carriers
1 Los Angeles, California 1,303,000 Alaska, Allegiant, American, Delta, JetBlue, Southwest, Spirit, Sun Country, United
2 Denver, Colorado 1,158,000 Frontier, Southwest, Spirit, United
3 Seattle/Tacoma, Washington 938,000 Alaska, Delta, Frontier, Southwest, Spirit
4 Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas 899,000 American, Frontier, Spirit, Sun Country
5 Atlanta, Georgia 829,000 Delta, Frontier, Southwest, Spirit
6 Phoenix–Sky Harbor, Arizona 826,000 American, Frontier, JSX, Spirit, Southwest
7 Chicago–O'Hare, Illinois 816,000 American, Southwest, Spirit, United
8 San Diego, California 774,000 Allegiant, American, Frontier, JSX, Southwest, Spirit
9 San Francisco, California 765,000 Alaska, Frontier, Southwest, United
10 Oakland, California 665,000 Allegiant, JSX, Southwest, Spirit
Busiest international routes from LAS (July 2022 – June 2023)
Rank City Passengers Carriers
1 Canada Toronto–Pearson, Canada 507,718 Air Canada, Canada Jetlines, Flair, Porter, WestJet
2 United Kingdom London–Heathrow, United Kingdom 370,436 British Airways, Virgin Atlantic
3 Mexico Mexico City, Mexico 354,991 Aeroméxico, VivaAerobús, Volaris
4 Canada Vancouver, Canada 348,474 Air Canada, Flair, WestJet
5 Canada Calgary, Canada 345,325 Flair, Lynx Air, WestJet
6 Mexico Guadalajara, Mexico 189,774 Volaris
7 Canada Edmonton, Canada 187,382 Flair, WestJet
8 Canada Montréal–Trudeau, Canada 140,984 Air Canada, Lynx Air
9 Netherlands Amsterdam, Netherlands 118,900 KLM
10 Germany Frankfurt, Germany 101,084 Condor, Discover Airlines

Airline market share

Largest airlines at LAS
(December 2022-November 2023)
Rank Airline Passengers Share
1 Southwest Airlines 19,936,000 38.50%
2 Spirit Airlines 8,298,000 16.03%
3 Delta Airlines 4,781,000 9.23%
4 Frontier Airlines 4,630,000 8.94%
5 American Airlines 4,102,000 7.92%
Other 10,034,000 19.38%

Ground transportation

Vehicles reach the airport via Paradise Road and Russell Road from the north and via the Harry Reid Airport Connector, which branches off from the Las Vegas Beltway, from the south. The Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada's public bus system serves the airport. A 5,000-space consolidated rental car facility is located three miles (5 km) away and is linked to the terminals by shuttle buses. Buses also shuttle passengers between Terminals 1 and 3.

Accidents and incidents

  • On the evening of November 15, 1964, Bonanza Air Lines Flight 114, a Fairchild F-27 turboprop flying from Phoenix 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.

See also


This page was last updated at 2024-03-21 07:59 UTC. Update now. View original page.

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