McCarran posts highest passenger totals since ‘08

McCarran International Airport last year posted its highest passenger volume totals since 2008, welcoming 42.9 million people through its gates in 2014.

The Clark County Aviation Department on Wednesday said much of the 2.4 percent increase in volume over 2013 could be attributed to a boost in international traffic.

“We have been cautiously optimistic as passenger traffic has modestly, but steadily, improved over the past few years,” department Director Rosemary Vassiliadis said.

“While domestic carrier traffic has remained even, the real bright spot for McCarran and Las Vegas has been our international passenger growth, which this past year was up 12.5 percent,” she said. “It really showcases the value of Terminal 3 and validates our board of county commissioners and its decision to move forward with such an important investment in our community.”

Terminal 3 opened in June 2012 and both full years that it has been operational it has led the nation in international traffic growth by percentage.

Passenger capacity increases from Mexico, Canada, Europe and Latin America have put Terminal 3 on the aviation map.

Interjet, Magnicharters, Volaris and VivaAerobus extended Las Vegas’ reach south of the border while WestJet and Air Canada’s Rouge brand increased visitation from the north.

WestJet, the Canadian discount airline and the first foreign carrier to surpass 1 million passengers to McCarran, beat its own record, bringing in 1.1 million in 2014. Air Canada had a 24.3 percent increase in traffic last year.

Access to Europe also improved with British Airways adding service from London’s Gatwick International Airport and Lufthansa subsidiary Edelweiss Air provided new nonstop access to Zurich.

Panama City-based Copa Airlines extended Southern Nevada’s reach to Central and South America with daily nonstop service to and from Panama City and a 57.1 percent increase in passengers from 2013 to 2014.

Domestic passenger service increased, but not at the pace of the international side. Domestic passenger counts were up 1.7 percent to 38.6 million people.

Market leader Southwest Airlines posted a record 17 million passengers in 2014, a 2.9 percent increase over the previous year. No. 2 United had 3.7 million passengers for the year, a 1.3 percent increase. United surpassed former No. 2 Delta Air Lines, which had 3.6 million passengers, an 8.8 percent decline from the prior year, attributed to fewer flights on smaller aircraft.

Las Vegas-based Allegiant Air also had a decline in 2014 to 2.2 million passengers, a 2.4 percent decrease. Allegiant ranked No. 6 behind fellow deep discounter Spirit Airlines.

The only category showing an overall decline in 2014 were air tour airlines and helicopter companies serving the west side of McCarran. There were 904,099 passengers for the year, a 2.2 percent decline from 2013. That was attributed to the discontinuation of service by Heli-USA, a helicopter tour company that shut down operations in March.

Vassiliadis said new and rejuvenated visitor attractions and boosts in convention traffic led to McCarran’s banner year, which wasn’t a record.

The airport’s biggest year occurred in 2007, when 47.7 million passengers used the facility.

Contact reporter Richard N. Velotta at rvelotta@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3893. Find him on Twitter: @RickVelotta