Proper planning requires airport preparation
To the editor:
Alan Choate's Friday article, "Ivanpah airport in holding pattern," has made me wonder about Las Vegas' future.
How will Las Vegas be able to keep up with global aviation transportation trends?
Just two days before, on June 9, The Wall Street Journal included a report that Dubai's Emirates Airline has ordered 32 additional Airbus A380 aircraft in its effort to become a super-jumbo leader among long-haul airlines.
Emirates had previously ordered 58 of the huge jets, which can carry around 500 passengers several thousand miles nonstop. Including Emirates, Airbus has now set orders with several airlines for more than 200 of the transformational jets.
Obviously, there is a future for the A380, but that future evidently does not include Las Vegas. The A380, because of its huge size and runway requirements, can never use McCarran International Airport. Without construction of the proposed Ivanpah airport, the Airbus A380 cannot connect with Las Vegas. Which brings me to the statement by Robert E. Lang of the Brookings Institution that "Las Vegas is a world city due to its connectivity to other cities."
In the Review-Journal article, Rosemary Vassiliadis, deputy director of aviation for the Clark County Aviation Department, says, "We know we're beyond 2025" with regard to possible completion of the Ivanpah airport.
Los Angeles International Airport is already accommodating the Airbus A380. The A380 is landing there right now. And the best Las Vegas can do is 2025?
To me, it is clear Los Angeles is committed to global connectivity. What kind of connectivity will Las Vegas be envisioning and working toward?
Robert L. Candiotti
Las Vegas
