Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

Las Vegas airport reports record 51.5 million travelers in 2019

Planes Take Off From McCarran

Steve Marcus

A Southwest Airlines passenger jet takes off from McCarran International Airport June 5, 2017.

McCarran International Airport says a jump in the number of travelers in December pushed it to a record 51.5 million passengers in calendar 2019.

An airport year-end report made public today came more than a month after officials held a ceremony marking the arrival for of a record 50 millionth passenger in one year.

The previous 12-month record was 49.7 million in 2018.

The Clark County Department of Aviation counted nearly 4.25 million arriving and departing passengers in December, up 9% from the same month in 2018.

Airport chief Rosemary Vassiliadis said domestic passenger volume grew 3.9% for the year, with big increases by low-cost carriers Sun Country, Frontier and Spirit airlines.

Southwest Airlines is by far the busiest airline, accounting for more than 17 million passengers last year. But the airline was down 3.7% from its total of more than 18 million in 2018.