Las Vegas’ Harry Reid International Airport set an all-time April record for through passengers, as international travel soars in 2023 and tourism shows no sign of slowing ahead of the Memorial Day holiday.
The airport, coming off of a strong March in which it recorded its second highest traffic in history at 4.93 million passengers, recorded 4.8 million passengers in April. That easily surpasses the previous April record of 4.27 million in 2019. The passenger traffic in April was also nearly 13% higher than the 4.25 million who traveled through the airport in April 2022.
For the year, some 18.3 million passengers have passed through the airport, 22% more than the 15 million in the first four months of 2022.
The release of the airport data comes a week before the Nevada Gaming Control Board releases its April gaming revenue numbers on May 31, later than normal due to the holiday.
The Las Vegas Review-Journal reported Tuesday that Las Vegas is bracing for the kickoff of the summer vacation season and that the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority expects 335,000 visitors for the three-day weekend, 3.7% more than a year ago.
The Review-Journal reported the LVCVA expects 93% occupancy, up about a half-point over 2022.
Visitors are projected to spend $387.3 million over the weekend, according to the newspaper.
International travel continued to pick up with 266,536 traveling through the airport in April, an increase from the 252,670 in March and 33% higher than the 199,991 in April 2022. For 2023, Reid International has processed 960,496 international visitors, 75% more than in 2022.
Southwest Airlines led the way with 1.65 million passengers, 11.8% higher than April 2022. Spirit handled 752,389 passengers, a 51% increase from April 2022. Frontier had a 17% increase to 417,193. Delta’s passenger count fell 6%, while American Airlines fell 6.5%.
Canadian airlines took the top spot internationally, ahead of Mexico and the United Kingdom. WestJet had 57,758 passengers, Air Canada 51,231, Swoop 20,155, Flair 7,900; and Lynx Air 3,860.
Mexico-based Volaris handled 22,962, VivaAerobus 17,160 and Aeromexico 10,186.
British Airways handled 19,632 passengers and Virgin Atlantic 15,28.
Dutch carrier KLM had 8,200 passengers, while Korean Airlines had 7,901.
