Allegiant Air to switch from Concourse D to Concourse A starting Tuesday

Allegiant Air will switch its gates at McCarran International Airport from Concourse D to Concourse A starting Tuesday.

In doing so, they will take the area vacated by US Airways in July when it moved to Concourse D to be next to current Star Alliance partner United Airlines and potential merger partner American Airlines.

According to Allegiant spokeswoman Jessica Wheeler, the A gates make for a more compact and efficient operation, especially because they are close to Allegiant’s maintenance facility. However, if Allegiant starts flights from Las Vegas to Mexico next year, as planned, it could mean towing planes to A from Terminal 3, which houses the customs and immigration facilities.

Allegiant’s ticket counter and baggage claim in Terminal 1 will not change. But the gate switch will come as welcome news to the concessionaires in A and the adjoining Concourse B who have seen the number of passengers dwindle after US Airways moved.

However, the northeast arm of D, where Allegiant currently is located, will go silent for the near term.