McCarran International Airport
McCarran International Airport is the principal commercial airport serving
Las Vegas and surrounding
Clark County, Nevada. It is located outside the City of Las Vegas in the unincorporated
Paradise CDP. McCarran is owned by Clark County and operated by the Clark County Department of Aviation. Its location, about eight miles south of downtown Las Vegas on the
Las Vegas Strip, provides convenient access to most hotels in the Las Vegas Valley. It currently serves as a
hub for
America West Airlines, now operating as
US Airways.
In
2005 McCarran was one of the world's
busiest airports, ranking ninth for
passenger traffic, with 44,280,190 passengers passing through the terminal, and fifth for
aircraft movements, with 605,046 takeoffs and landings.
McCarran (and the
Clark County, Nevada Department of Aviation) is also a completely self-sufficient enterprise, requiring no money from the County's general fund. (
Financial Statement - Page 15)As of December 2004,
Southwest Airlines operated more flights out of McCarran than at any other airport. Southwest also carries the most passengers in and out of McCarran. The US Airways night-flight hub operation, established beginning in 1986 by predecessor America West Airlines, makes the carrier McCarran's second busiest airline, with the vast majority of flights still operated by America West. Other airlines that run hubs at McCarran include
Allegiant Air.
McCarran Airport is unique in that it has more than 1,300 slot machines throughout the airport terminals.
Maximum capacity for the airport is estimated at 53 million passengers and 625,000 aircraft movements. As McCarran is predicted to reach this capacity around 2017,
Ivanpah Airport is planned as a
relief airport.
American aviator George Crockett, a descendant of frontiersman
Davy Crockett, established Alamo Airport in
1942 on the site currently occupied by McCarran International. In
1948,
Clark County purchased the airfield from Crockett to establish the Clark County Public Airport, and all commercial operations moved to the site of this airport. On
December 20, 1948 the airport was renamed
McCarran Field for
U.S. Senator Pat McCarran, a longtime
Nevada politician who authored the Civil Aeronautics Act and played a major role in developing aviation nationwide.
The location for the present terminals was moved from Las Vegas Boulevard South to Paradise Road in
1963. By this time, the airport was serving 1.5 million passengers a year.
In 1978, Sen.
Howard Cannon, D-Nev., was able to push though Congress the
Airline Deregulation Act. That meant airlines no longer had to get the federal government's permission to fly to destinations, but instead dealt with the airports to establish additional routes. Just after deregulation, the number of airlines serving McCarran doubled from seven to 14.
An expansion plan called McCarran 2000 was adopted in
1978 and funded by a $300 million bond in
1982. The three-phase plan included a new central terminal; a nine-level parking facility; runway additions and expansions; additional gates; upgraded passenger assistance facilities; and a new tunnel and revamped roadways into the airport. The first phase of McCarran 2000 opened in
1985 and was completed by
1987.
Between
1986 and
1997, Terminal 2 was built where two separate terminals had been in the
1970s and
1980s; one for
American Airlines and the other for
Pacific Southwest Airlines.
In the
1990s all gates and check in counters were upgraded to use a common set of computer equipment. CUTE, Common Use Terminal Equipment, eliminated the need for each airline to have their own equipment and allows the airport to reassign gates and counters without having to deal with individual airlines' computer systems. McCarran was the first airport in the United States to implement this type of system.
In
1998 the D Gates SE and SW wings opened adding 28 gates. The D Gates project is a modification to the original McCarran 2000 plan.
On October 16,
2003, the airport installed SpeedCheck
SM kiosks which allow customers to obtain a
boarding pass without having to go to a specific airline kiosk or counter. McCarran was the first airport to provide this service for multiple airlines from a single kiosk. At the same time, 6 kiosks were activated at the
Las Vegas Convention Center allowing convention attendees to get boarding passes on their way to the airport. This system was enhanced to add printing of baggage tags in
2005.
On January 4,
2005, McCarran Airport became a free
Wi-Fi zone. Wi-Fi is available in all public areas of the airport - travellers do not need to look for a hot spot. McCarran was the first airport to provide this as a free service for the entire facility.
In
2005, the D Gates NE wing opened adding 10 gates.
McCarran International Airport has two public passenger
terminals. Other terminals service private aircraft, US government contractors, sightseeing flights and cargo.
Terminal 1
Terminal 1 handles most flights and contains 85 gates in four concourses.
People movers connect concourses C and D with the Terminal 1 check-in and baggage claim areas.
Concourse A
*
Champion Air (Dallas/Fort Worth, Denver, Detroit, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Oklahoma City, St. Louis, Tulsa)
*
US Airways (Charlotte, Fort Lauderdale, Miami, Nashville (begins October 5, 2006), Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Raleigh/Durham)
**
US Airways operated by
America West Airlines (Albuquerque, Anchorage (seasonal), Atlanta, Austin, Baltimore/Washington, Boise, Boston, Billings, Burbank, Calgary, Chicago-O'Hare, Cleveland, Columbus, Dallas/Fort Worth, Denver, Detroit, Edmonton, Fresno, Houston-Intercontinental, Kahului, Los Angeles, Minneapolis/St. Paul, New York-JFK, Newark, New Orleans, Oakland, Ontario, Orlando, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, Portland (OR), Puerto Vallarta, Reno/Tahoe, Sacramento, Salt Lake City, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose (CA), San Jose del Cabo, Santa Ana, Seattle/Tacoma, Spokane, Tampa, Toronto, Vancouver, Washington-Dulles, Washington-Reagan)
**
US Airways Express operated by
Air Midwest (Cedar City, Lake Havasu)
**
US Airways Express operated by
Mesa Airlines (Bakersfield, Billings, Boise, Burbank, Colorado Springs, Dallas/Fort Worth, Denver, Eugene, Fresno, Los Angeles, Medford, Monterey, Oklahoma City, Ontario, Orange County, Palm Springs, Portland (OR), Reno/Tahoe, Sacramento, Salt Lake City, San Antonio, San Diego, San Jose (CA), San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Seattle/Tacoma, Spokane, Tucson)
Concourse B
*
US Airways**
US Airways operated by
America West Airlines (See Concourse A)
**
US Airways Express operated by
Mesa Airlines (See Concourse A)
*
Southwest Airlines (Albany, Albuquerque, Amarillo, Austin, Baltimore/Washington, Birmingham (AL), Boise, Buffalo, Burbank, Chicago-Midway, Cleveland, Columbus, Denver, El Paso, Hartford, Houston-Hobby, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Little Rock, Islip, Los Angeles, Louisville, Lubbock, Manchester (NH), Midland/Odessa, Nashville, Norfolk, Oakland, Oklahoma City, Omaha, Ontario, Orlando, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, Portland (OR), Providence, Raleigh/Durham, Reno/Tahoe, Sacramento, St. Louis, Salt Lake City, San Antonio, San Diego, San Jose (CA), Santa Ana, Seattle/Tacoma, Spokane, Tampa, Tucson, Tulsa, Washington-Dulles [begins Oct. 5, 2006])
Concourse C
*
Aloha Airlines (Oakland, Honolulu)
*
ATA Airlines (Honolulu)
*
Southwest Airlines (See Concourse B)
*
US Airways**
US Airways operated by
America West Airlines (See Concourse A)
Concourse D
*
AirTran Airways (Akron, Atlanta, Dallas/Fort Worth [ends Sept. 7], Flint)
*
Alaska Airlines (Anchorage, Portland (OR), Seattle/Tacoma, Vancouver)
*
Allegiant Air (Abilene, Bellingham, Billings, Bismarck, Cedar Rapids, Colorado Springs, Des Moines, Fargo, Fort Collins/Loveland, Fresno, Green Bay, Idaho Falls, Killeen, Lansing, Lincoln, McAllen (TX), Missoula, Oklahoma City, Palm Springs, Pasco, Peoria, Rapid City, Rockford, Santa Maria (CA), Sioux Falls, South Bend, Springfield (MO), St. Louis (Mid America), Stockton, Topeka, Wichita)
*
American Airlines (Chicago-O'Hare, Dallas/Fort Worth, Los Angeles, Miami, San Jose (CA), St. Louis)
*
Continental Airlines (Cleveland, Houston-Intercontinental, Newark)
*
Delta Air Lines (Atlanta, Boston, Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky, Fort Lauderdale, Hartford, New York-JFK, New York-LaGuardia, Orlando, Salt Lake City)
**
Delta Connection operated by
Atlantic Southeast Airlines (Los Angeles [starts Dec 15, 2006], Salt Lake City)
**
Delta Connection operated by
SkyWest (Salt Lake City)
*
Frontier Airlines (Denver)
*
JetBlue Airways (Boston, Burbank, Long Beach, New York-JFK, Washington-Dulles)
*
Midwest Airlines (Milwaukee)
*
Northwest Airlines (Detroit, Grand Rapids, Indianapolis, Los Angeles, Madison, Memphis, Milwaukee, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Sioux Falls)
*
Spirit Airlines (Detroit)
*
Sun Country (Minneapolis/St. Paul)
*
United Airlines**
Ted operated by
United Airlines (Chicago-O'Hare, Denver, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Washington-Dulles)
**
United Express operated by
SkyWest (Fresno, Palm Springs)
Terminal 2
|
USGS-image of the airport |
Also known as the Charter International Terminal, Terminal 2 contains eight gates, three of which are for international flights. All international arrivals must go through Terminal 2 so passengers can clear
customs. Terminal 2 also handles most charter flights.
A
shuttle bus operates between Terminals 1 and 2. The shuttle operates from the
Level 0 bus area at Terminal 1 and stops at the check-in area of Terminal 2 and the customs building next to Terminal 2.
*
Aeroméxico (Guadalajara, Mexico City, Monterrey)
*
Air Canada (Calgary, Edmonton (begins September 7), Montréal, Toronto, Vancouver, Winnipeg (begins September 7))
*
Air Transat (Toronto)
*
Aviacsa (Guadalajara, Monterrey)
*
bmi (Manchester (UK))
*
Harmony Airways (Vancouver)
*
Hawaiian Airlines (Honolulu)
*
Japan Airlines (Tokyo-Narita) (ends September 30, 2006)
*
Korean Air (Seoul-Incheon) (begins September 2006)
*
Mexicana (Guadalajara, Mexico City, San Jose del Cabo)
*
Philippine Airlines (Manila, Vancouver)
*
Virgin Atlantic (London-Gatwick)
*
WestJet (Calgary, Edmonton, Kelowna, Toronto, Winnipeg)
Charter
Besides scheduled services, McCarran is a major hub for sightseeing flights.As such, many
charter airlines, usually using Terminal 2, are regular users of McCarran.
*
Belair (Zurich)
*
Champion Air*
Condor (Frankfurt)
*
Miami Air International*
MyTravel Airways (
Glasgow and
Manchester)
*
Omni Air International*
Skyservice (Toronto)
Cargo
At McCarran, there is a terminal devoted to
cargo airline operations for:
* America West Cargo
*
DHL*
FedEx*
UPS*
Airborne ExpressIn 2004, McCarran handled 201,135,520 pounds of cargo.
Other terminal operations
 |
EG&G "JANET" 737s at McCarran |
*
Fixed Base Operators**
Signature Flight Support, owned by
BBA Aviation Services Group, provides services for private aircraft using McCarran. It also provides equipment and support to other airlines for aircraft types that do not normally fly into McCarran.
** The Las Vegas Executive Air Terminal, owned by
Eagle Aviation Resources, is being purchased by
Macquarie Infrastructure Company. It provides services for private aircraft using McCarran.
*
Helicopter Companies:
**
Papillon Grand Canyon Helicopters Sightseeing
**
Heli USA Sightseeing
* The
EG&G Airlift Terminal, operated by defense contractor EG&G Technical Services. EG&G flies a variety of aircraft (including
Boeing 737s) from McCarran to various military facilities in southern Nevada and eastern California. The civilian contractors who use this service (callsign JANET) work at the
Tonopah Test Range, the
Nevada Test Site, and reportedly at
Area 51.
* Hughes Aviation
* Quail Aviation
* Scenic Aviation Sightseeing
As the airport continues through the process of upgrading and expanding there is a list of projects due to be completed before 2010.
* Consolidated rent-a-car center (estimated opening, mid-2006)
* Baggage claim - Terminal One - new baggage claim devices (estimated 2007)
* Terminal Three - a new terminal for scheduled carriers; a 'unit' terminal including bag claim, ticketing and parking facilities (estimated mid-2010)
* Roadway system improvements - concurrent with development of Terminal Three
* Aircraft apron reconstruction and Terminal One rehabilitation (ongoing)
* D Gates NW wing - addition of nine gates to satellite concourse (estimated 2008)
* Connection to the
Las Vegas Monorail with 2 airport stations (2010)
The
Howard W. Cannon Aviation Museum is located on the Esplanade, Level 2, above the baggage claim area. This small museum is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and concentrates on Las Vegas airline history. Items on display include a copy of the first emergency vehicle that was used on the airfield. Admittance is free. A small branch of the museum is located at the D gates, and some of the other concourses and check-in areas also have small displays.
* Murals in McCarran International Airport D Gates (artists include Tom Holder, Mary Warner, Robert Beckmann)
* Greg LeFevre's "Flights Paths" - in the rotunda's terrazzo floor
* Tony Milici's steel and glass sculpture at McCarran D Gates
* McCarran D Gates wall tiles of international skylines by sixteen Clark County fourth graders
* Clark County Wildlife sculptures at the D Gates, by David Phelps
US Airways operates a
US Airways Club outside security, above the ticket counters in Terminal 1. Open from 5am to 12am daily.
*
McCarran International Airport (official site)
*
Nevada DOT Airport Diagram (
PDF)
