Las Vegas Airport Sets Monthly Passenger Record, Spirit Agrees to JetBlue Merger

Harry Reid International, the primary Las Vegas airport that served nearly 40 million passengers last year, has set a new monthly passengers record.

Terminal 1 at Harry Reid International is seen in June 2022. The primary Las Vegas airport set a monthly record for passengers in June. (Image: Las Vegas Review-Journal)

Las Vegas airport officials say its terminals facilitated more than 4.68 million travelers last month. That eclipses its previous all-time busiest month of 4.61 million passengers, set in October 2019. Harry Reid International is where most Las Vegas casino guests arrive via air.

We are continuing to see a strong domestic demand for Las Vegas, which has really been the story of our recovery, said airport spokesperson Joe Rajchel.

Domestic arrivals jumped more than 18% year-over-year to 4.35 million travelers. International traffic fared even better year-over-year, as foreign arrivals continue to rebound from the pandemic.

About 244,000 international passengers made their way through Harry Reid International last month roughly 191,000 more than in June 2021 a 357% spike.

Through the first half of 2022, Las Vegas airport traffic is up 52% from 2021. Nearly 24.3 million people this year have departed or arrived at the airport just east of the .

More people typically means more gaming. The Nevada Gaming Control Board has not yet released its June casino report. But the state has eclipsed $1 billion in gross gaming revenue (GGR) in the previous 15 months.

May was the gaming industry s best May ever. GGR totaled $1.38 billion 5.7% higher than May 2021.

Major Service Provider to Merge

Southwest Airlines transports more people into Southern Nevada than any other airliner. The low-cost carrier counted 1.64 million passengers in and/or out of Las Vegas last month 18% higher than June 2021.

Spirit Airlines is Harry Reid s second-largest airliner. The ultra-low-cost carrier brought 656,0000 people through Las Vegas last month up 58% year-over-year.

Frontier Airlines was next at 428,000 June passengers. Frontier and Spirit , but the deal fell apart this week.

Spirit, actively seeking a buyout, wasted no time finding a new suitor. Today, JetBlue announced it has agreed to acquire Spirit for $3.8 billion.

JetBlue is a minor service provider to Las Vegas. The airliner carried 74,517 passengers in and/or out of Las Vegas last month, ranking it ninth at the airport.

If the JetBlue-Spirit merger gains approvals from shareholders and antitrust regulators, the combined airline will become the fifth-largest commercial airliner in the nation.

International Remains Down

International traffic through Harry Reid International remains significantly below 2019 pre-pandemic levels, as COVID concerns limit the foreign leisure segment.

June s 244,000 international passenger count is 25% below June 2019, when a little more than 327,000 foreigners ventured into Southern Nevada. Through June 2022, international travel to the Las Vegas airport remains 44% suppressed.

Mexico and Canada are the two most important international feeder markets for Las Vegas. The countries accounted for over 63% of the foreign visitor load in 2019.

In June, the Biden administration did away with mandatory COVID-19 testing requirements for incoming international travelers. Before the lifting, all incoming travelers from foreign nations including US citizens seeking to return home had to present a negative coronavirus test to board an airplane destined for the states.