LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — With less than two weeks left in 2023, there's just enough time for county officials to recognize some major milestones at the core of what drives our valley.
Dec. 19 marks the 75th anniversary of Harry Reid International Airport, which opened as McCarran Field in 1948.
As a world-class destination, officials know Las Vegas needs an airport system to meet the demands of the next 75 years.
It's a milestone 23 years in the making: the end of the initial planning phases for a new airport 30 miles south of Las Vegas, just north of Primm.
"The county Department of Aviation coming up with a plan to kind of ensure that, with all the growth that we're seeing, there's a future, and that the airport system is ready for the future," Mark McClardy of the Federal Aviation Administration told Clark County commissioners on Tuesday. "I think it's huge."
Airport officials say it's not possible to expand Harry Reid International because of development surrounding the airport. But demand continues to grow.
McClardy put that growth into perspective:
"When you look at the newest big airport, Denver, which was opened in 1995, it's about 53 square miles or 34,000 acres," he said. "When you look at Dallas-Forth Worth International, which opened in 1974, it's about 26.9 square miles and a little bit over 17,000 acres. Harry Reid, as great as it is, is about 2,800 acres."
That means the Denver airport, seeing about 69 million annual passengers, is over 12 times bigger than Harry Reid, which served 53 million passengers last year.
The next step in the plan to make our new airport a reality is Phase One, which includes taking stock of the environmental impact.
"We need to get a consultant engaged and up to speed, and then start the clock," Clark County Commission chair Jim Gibson said. "And we're anxious to be able to move all of that through completely so we're not missing anything, but as expeditiously as we can."
There's still a long way to go — about 14 years, to be exact. The new airport project will include three phases, with a projected opening sometime in 2037.
