The Las Vegas airport saw a 22% jump in international passengers in May that boosted its passenger count to 5.2 million, the second highest month of all time.
The strong showing reported by Harry Reid International Airport comes before the Nevada Gaming Control Board on Thursday releases May gaming revenue numbers and the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority announces monthly visitation numbers.
The 5.2 million passengers in May fell short of the all-time record of 5.47 million in October 2023, but was 5.2% higher than the 4.95 million passengers in May 2023.
For the year, 23.8 million passengers have passed through the airport in what’s likely to be another record year. The count is running 2.4% higher than the first five months of 2023.
International passengers are a big reason behind the gain. While domestic travelers processing through the airport rose 4.3% to 4.78 million in May, the 351,436 international passengers marked a 21.9% increase.
International travel is up 23.2% for the year to 1.55 million. The domestic passenger count for the year was 21.8 million, a 1.3% increase.
Southwest Airlines led the way once again with 1.92 million passengers in May, a 9.3% increase over May 2023. Southwest is running 11.8% ahead of the first five months of 2023. Spirit Airlines is second with 704,156, a 6.8% year-over-year decline. It’s down 14.3% for the year. Delta is third with 476,429, a 13.4% increase over May 2023. It’s up 11.1% for the year.
American is fourth with 396,468, a 12.3% increase over May 2023. It’s up 9.4% for the year. United is fifth, handling 381,509, a 4.1% increase over May 2023. It’s up 9.3% for the year.
They were followed by Frontier with 357,464 passengers, Allegiant with 174,187, Alaska with 157,911, and JetBlue with 92,328. Hawaiian Airlines handled 58,521, a 12% year-over-year increase.
Internationally, Canadian airline WestJet led the way with 93,535, followed by Mexican carrier Volaris with 59,002 and Air Canada third at 58,072. They were followed by British Airways with 32,282.
