LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Rate increases for airlines using Harry Reid International Airport are coming.
The Clark County Commissioners approved the rate hikes during their last meeting.
The rate hikes will go into effect July 1 at the start of the 2025 fiscal year.
"We try to keep those prices, the fees and the operations low for the airlines to hopefully carry that over to the customers as well," said Harry Reid International Airport spokesperson Joe Rajchel.
While the airport doesn't control what airlines charge you for a ticket, they can control how much they charge the airlines to land.
Rajchel tells Channel 13 landing fees, terminal rental rates, gate use fees, common use passenger fee and aircraft turn fees all went up. Once again, these are just charges the airlines have to pay.
They all went up to help continue to cover the cost of the airport because the airport is a self-supporting agency.
"All of the operating costs are covered by the users who use this airport and the revenue that comes from that," Rajchel said.
Many travelers told Channel 13 that they're concerned those usage increases will cause the airlines to pass the cost on to passengers in the form of higher ticket prices.
"If we're going to increase it for the airlines themselves, is that going to come back on the people who are buying the flights, buying the tickets?" said Kristi Grasser, who travels through the airport at least three times a month.
"I like how rates are right now, I don't think I want them to change," said Las Vegas native Marlon Medina.
Rajchel said the rate changes are an annual occurrence and are needed. The added revenue will help the airport operate.
Harry Reid International is known as an enterprise fund and the money raised goes back into the airport.
The majority of the money goes toward debt service, salary, benefits, operations and maintenance.
All the costs an airline has to pay in order to land and take off from an airport is calculated into an average of how much they have to pay per customer on board. It's called the cost per enplaned passenger, or CPE.
Harry Reid International is raising the CPE for airlines from $6.49 to $7.27 from last year to this next fiscal year.
That increase is still lower than many major origin & destination airports nationwide. Origin & destination airports are ones people take off from or end their travel at, rather than just for layover flights. Even though Harry Reid International has passengers who use the airport as a layover flight, Rajchel says the majority either finish their travel or take off from this location.
Out of the top-10 ranked origin & destination airports, Harry Reid International ranks eighth in CPE. JFK airport in New York is at $32.67 CPE, LAX in Los Angeles is at $25.43 and SFO in San Francisco is at $21.14, just to name a few.
Rajchel says the airport's relationship is strong with the airlines due to low cost and high traffic.
The airport budget in 2023 shows the agency spent more than $305.5 million in operating expenses and more than $96.4 million in salaries.
The airport projects more than 58.8 million passengers will travel through it's doors this year. That breaks last year's record of 57.6 million.
Rajchel points out more passengers also means more maintenance and more operational cost.
