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McCarran moves up, ranked No. 8 in North American airports

A steady increase in passenger traffic pushed McCarran International up one spot to become the eighth-busiest airport in North America, according to figures released this week by Airports Council International.

Las Vegas pushed past the airport in Charlotte, North Carolina, to move up in the rankings, based on passenger volumes in 2015. More than 45.4 million passengers departed or arrived at McCarran last year, a 5.8 percent increase from 2014.

Airport officials attributed the boost to increased traffic from Southwest Airlines, which carried more than 900,000 additional passengers in and out of Las Vegas in 2015, compared to a year earlier. Frontier Airlines’ traffic increased by more than 745,000 passengers, while Spirit Airlines increased its count by 431,000 travelers. McCarran also saw 150,000 additional international travelers last year, a 4.5 percent uptick from 2014.

Clark County Director of Aviation Rosemary Vassiliadis called the airport’s move up to No. 8 in North America “a great sign.”

“This new 2015 ranking offers further validation that our airline partners in the United States and around the globe are increasingly confident in the strength of Las Vegas, both as a leisure destination as well as a business market,” Vassiliadis said.

Atlanta retained the top spot with more than 101.4 million passengers last year, followed by Chicago O’Hare International, Los Angeles, Dallas/Fort Worth and New York’s John F. Kennedy International rounding out North America’s five busiest airports based on passenger volume, according to ACI.

Contact Art Marroquin at amarroquin@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0336. Find @AMarroquin_LV on Twitter.

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