Las Vegas Airport
Las Vegas McCarran International Airport is the main airport serving the metropolitan area of Las Vegas, Nevada. It is located in Paradise, about 5 miles south of downtown Las Vegas. The airport is owned and operated by the Clark County Aviation Department. The airport has an area of 11.33 square kilometres.
The airport was built in 1942 and opened for scheduled flights in 1948. Over time it has undergone significant expansion with the introduction of various innovative technologies. The airport has four runways and two passenger terminals: Terminal 1 and Terminal 3. In the former are gates A, B, C and D and in the latter gate E. To the east of the passenger terminals is the Marnell Air Cargo Center while to the west are facilities for helicopter companies.
In 2015, more than 45,300,000 passengers passed through the las vegas airport, an increase of 5.8% on the previous year but still below pre-recession levels. It is the 26th busiest airport in the world in terms of passengers and eighth busiest in terms of air traffic. Direct services to North America, Europe and Asia are offered from the airport. It is a focus city for Allegiant Air while for Frontier Airlines, Southwest Airlines and Spirit Airlines it is also a maintenance and crew base.
Origins (1920-1948)
Prior to McCarran Airport, the airport serving the city of Las Vegas was Anderson Field, which opened in November 1920. Purchased by the Rockwell brothers in 1925, the airfield was renamed Rockwell Field and Western Air Express (WAE) began scheduled flights there in April 1926. When the Rockwell brothers sold the airport, the new owner no longer allowed the company to operate on its territory. So in November 1929 the airline relocated to an airport that had been built northeast of the city, now a United States Air Force base known as Nellis Air Force Base.
Despite increased traffic to Las Vegas, Western Air reduced its services to the city due to the Great Depression. As soon as the company’s economic situation improved, it purchased the airport and established a monopoly on flights there. When the city tried to buy the airport, with the intention of building a more modern terminal, WAE refused. With the advent of World War II, however, the company was urged to sell the airport. The then Senator from Nevada, Pat McCarran, helped provide the funds to buy the airport and build the new terminal. In 1941, thanks to the Senator’s contribution, the airport was renamed McCarran.
A third airport, Alamo Field, was built in 1942 by airman George Crocket south of the city of Las Vegas, at the current location of McCarran Airport. Because the Army wanted to open a military base at McCarran Airport, Clark County purchased Alamo Field from the aviator in order to relocate scheduled flights. On December 19, 1948, Alamo Field was renamed McCarran Airport. With the opening of the new airport WAE lost its monopoly on flights, allowing other airlines to operate there. In the meantime the army occupied the former McCarran Airport and renamed it Nellis Air Force Base in 1950.
Expansion (1949-1996)
In its first year of operation, the airport saw more than 35,000 passengers pass through. With the rise of the Las Vegas casino industry and the success of airlines in the 1950s, traffic to the airport increased significantly with 959,603 passengers passing through in 1959. To cope with the increase in traffic, airport officials began to think about building a new terminal. While the original terminal was located on Las Vegas Boulevard, the highway that passes by Las Vegas’ famous casinos, the new terminal was built on Paradise Road. With a design reminiscent of New York’s TWA Flight Center, the terminal opened on 15 March 1963.
The airport was officially renamed McCarran International Airport in September 1968. Further development took place between the years 1970 and 1974 with the construction of Gates A and B. Following the deregulation of the aviation industry in 1978, the number of airlines flying into the airport doubled from 7 to 14 in just two years. In response to this increase, the county launched an expansion plan called McCarran 2000, with detailed projects to be undertaken by the year 2000. In 1985, expanded baggage claim services, an esplanade and a car park were inaugurated. Gate C and the first APM system followed in 1987.
Further expansion took place during the 1990s. The Charter/International terminal, later renamed Terminal 2, opened in December 1991 to handle the increase in international traffic to Las Vegas. An additional nine-storey car park and a purpose-built road system were constructed. In June 1998, the southwest and southeast wings of Gates D were opened.