Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

2022 Las Vegas airport numbers hit record with heavy Dec. weekend

Harry Reid International Airport Sign

Steve Marcus

A sign for Harry Reid International Airport at Tropicana Avenue and Paradise Road Wednesday, Dec. 7, 2022.

Las Vegas was busy with visitors the first weekend in December, including those in town for a Raiders game, National Finals Rodeo and the Pac-12 Conference football championship.

The boost helped Harry Reid International Airport establish a record for passengers at 52.6 million in 2022, eclipsing the previous high of 51.5 million in 2019 and providing another signal that Las Vegas has rebounded from COVID-19 closures of 2020.

In figures released today, the 2022 mark was a 32.6% increase from 2021, when international travel was still limited because of pandemic restrictions.

“The trajectory of Las Vegas air travel throughout 2022 was nothing short of remarkable and could not have been achieved without the entire Clark County Aviation System,” said Rosemary Vassiliadis, the Clark County Director of Aviation in a statement. “We are no longer talking about an air travel recovery at Harry Reid International Airport; this is undeniably a period of growth that we expect will continue in 2023.”

The airport on three separate occasions in 2022 established single-month passenger records, with October becoming the first month to surpass 5 million passengers, officials said.

The passenger count was aided by international travel returning to pre-pandemic levels from South Korea, Germany and Switzerland, officials said.

The passenger record will likely be broken in 2023 with the addition of the Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix in the fall.

Additionally, Las Vegas tourism numbers will also be enhanced in March by college basketball, with resorts expecting capacity crowds for the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2019. And on the second weekend, Las Vegas is playing host to tournament games.