Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Henderson airport gets a new name

It's official. The Clark County Commission has changed the name of Sky Harbor Airport to Henderson Executive Airport.

The commission approved the measure on its consent agenda Tuesday, without discussion. But the move is another step in the county's Department of Aviation expansion.

The old name was often confused with Sky Harbor Airport in Phoenix, prompting Henderson city officials to ask for the name change.

Aviation Director Bob Broadbent said the Henderson airport, purchased by the county for $23.75 million in February, will continue to operate as home to the second- and third-largest Grand Canyon tour operators.

The Henderson facility will become a reliever airport such as the North Las Vegas Air Terminal, bought by the county in 1987 and renovated to meet federal standards.

To meet Federal Aviation Administration rules, the county will tear up the existing Henderson airport runway and build a new one.

More than 90 percent of the purchase price will come from the FAA and the rest from airport revenues.

The Alper family has operated the 402-acre airfield since Arby Alper opened it in 1969. Today the airport employs about 200 people.

Broadbent said earlier that the Henderson facility is necessary to relieve air traffic in the future at McCarran International Airport.

A federal study indicated that if a third of the smaller and slower aircraft currently using McCarran are sent to the Henderson facility, McCarran could save $3.93 million a year by avoiding delays. By redirecting two thirds of its traffic to the Henderson Executive Airport, the savings jump to $9.3 million.

The commission also approved purchase of a parcel of land east of the Henderson airport for $170,000, accepted by the owner listed as R. Alper.

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