Las Vegas airport reports record passenger volume in 2022

LAS VEGAS (AP) — The busy airport handling travelers to and from Las Vegas handled a record 52.7 million passengers in 2022, up more than 2% from the previous record set in 2019, according to a year-end report made public Monday.

Data from Harry Reid International Airport followed reports last week showing that Nevada casinos set calendar-year records for winnings and Las Vegas-area visitor tallies nearly reached levels seen before business shut-downs in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

“We are no longer talking about an air travel recovery,” Rosemary Vassiliadis, airport chief and Clark County Director of Aviation, said in a statement. “The trajectory of Las Vegas air travel throughout 2022 was nothing short of remarkable.”

Several airport rankings put the Las Vegas airport formerly known as McCarran International among the top 10 busiest for passenger traffic in the U.S.

It handled 51.5 million passengers in pre-pandemic 2019. A year ago, as travel ramped up following the pandemic, it reported serving 32.6 million passengers in 2021.

In the statement, the airport pointed to a busy year of Las Vegas-area sports and entertainment events, and an expansion of international travel including flights from South Korea, German and Switzerland.