The Las Vegas airport passenger count is up 1.7% for the year and on pace to set a record for the third consecutive year, bolstered by a 13% increase in international travel, a number that’s expected to jump from the F1 race last weekend.
Harry Reid International Airport released its October number Tuesday ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday. The Nevada Gaming Control Board, however, has postponed releasing October gaming revenue in the last week of the month. The numbers will come out in early December instead.
The airport handled 5.28 million passengers in October, down 3.5% from the 5.47 million a year ago. For the year, the passenger count stood at 48.8 million compared to 47.9 million through October 2023. It set a record of 57.6 million in 2023.
Domestic travel in October fell 4.4% in October to 4.8 million, down from 5.06 million a year ago in October. For the year, domestic travel is up 1.1%, hitting 44.9 million over the 44.5 million a year ago.
The rebound in international travel since the pandemic continues to boost the total, with 341,390 passengers passing through the airport in October, 8.3% higher than the 315,147 in October 2023. For the year, international passenger travel was 3.06 million, up 13.3% from the 2.7 million through the first 10 months of 2023.
International travel rose 28% during the 12 months of 2023.
In October, Virgin Atlantic had the biggest increase among international carriers by increasing its passenger count 39.7%. Virgin was followed by Edelweiss, up 27.8%; Air Canada, up 16.5%; KLM, up 10.4%; and British Airways, up 9.3%.
