Las Vegas airport passenger traffic drops in January; Southwest rules

Passenger traffic at Harry Reid International Airport was strong in January — but not as strong as it was a year ago, the Clark County Department of Aviation reported Tuesday.

The number of passengers using Las Vegas’ primary airport for the month was 4.34 million — a 0.9 percent decline from the 4.38 million recorded in January 2023.

It was the first monthly year-over-year decline in passenger counts since August when traffic dipped 0.5 percent.

While the number of international arrivals and departures was up 19.5 percent to 281,462, domestic travel was off 1.9 percent to 4 million.

Traffic at the westside charter terminals, mainly air tour helicopters, fell 9 percent for the month to 66,418.

Dallas-based Southwest Airlines continued to dominate domestic traffic with 1.7 million passengers, a 13.2 percent increase over a year ago. But No. 2 Spirit Airlines fell 14.8 percent to 573,545.

Canadian discounter Westjet paced international counts with 57,731, a 23.1 percent increase from January 2023.

Las Vegas hosted CES in January. February passenger counts, which will be reported at the end of March, are expected to be high as a result of the city hosting Super Bowl 58.

Contact Richard N. Velotta at rvelotta@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3893. Follow @RickVelotta on X.