Las Vegas' Harry Ried International Airport might see a significant investment from its largest carrier over the next two years. The airport is one of the fastest-growing airports in the nation and became the 17th busiest airport in the world in October. Southwest Airlines is the busiest commercial air carrier at the airport by a large margin.

The Nevada airport was Southwest's third-largest base nationwide this summer and offered direct flights to over 60 airports from the city. The carrier represents nearly a third of all passenger traffic at the airport, with over two million seats per month. Terry Reynolds, director of the Nevada Department of Business and Industry, told local news he was expecting a six-figure increase:

“Four months ago, we talked to Southwest Airlines and I know they are looking at an incredible expansion on the number of flights that they have coming into Las Vegas, in the hundreds-of-thousands range. That's on an annual basis, but still, they are going to be moving more staff into the Las Vegas area.”

"They have one of their chief executive officers who lives in Las Vegas, so they are looking at a major development and major increase in their traffic over the next couple of years.”

New growth in Nevada

The Las Vegas airport exceeded 5 million passengers served in a single month for the first time this year. According to the most recent publicly available statistics, the airport served 5,171,911 passengers in October 2022, up 23.7% from the same period last year. Over 43 million passengers traveled through the airport in the months leading up to October, with 15 million being flown on Southwest.

Over 3,700 staff and crew currently work at Southwest Airlines in Las Vegas. The carrier has pilot and crew bases in the city and is a significant regional employer. The airline first exceeded its pre-pandemic capacity in June. When contacted by Simple Flying for this article, a spokesperson for Southwest Airlines reaffirmed the carrier's commitment to the airport:

"Our next schedule extension will be published very soon."

"We currently have crew bases for Pilots and Flight Attendants in Las Vegas and are proud to be the largest commercial carrier of passengers to and from Harry Reid International Airport."

Additional capacity in the area

Reynolds further indicated the recent growth of Southwest and others at Harry Reid International could restimulate the development of a second Las Vegas area airport. A commercial airport has been proposed by the Clark County Aviation Department, which runs the area airports, and the Federal Aviation Administration.

The proposed Southern Nevada Supplemental Airport would stand on 6,000 acres of undeveloped federal land in the Ivanpah Valley. The site is 30 miles south of Las Vegas on Interstate 15, and the rail line for the Union Pacific Railroad also passes through the area, facilitating easy connections. The current airport is physically constrained in expanding in its present location due to its proximity to the Las Vegas Strip.

Further afield, authorities at Harry Reid International Aiport confirmed to Simple Flying earlier this year that the airport was looking to expand its route offerings to Australia and Asia. Top unserved markets include Japan, Australia, and the Philippines. In Europe, the top desired destination was Dublin.