Boosted by the busiest November in its history, Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas has already handled an all-time record passengers with one last month to be reported.
The airport 2023’s year-to-date 52.8 million passengers broke the record for passengers in a single year set in 2022 at 52.6 million. In November, the airport handled 4.8 million passengers, a 6.1% increase from the 4.56 million in November 2022 and an all-time record in the month, when Las Vegas hosted the Formula One race .
The November total isn’t surprising, given that the F1 race the weekend before Thanksgiving was expected to generate a lot of air traffic from across the country and internationally. The Las Vegas Raiders also hosted three home games at Allegiant Stadium in November.
Although Las Vegas visitation rose only 0.8% over November 2022, a lot of the totals were held down by a decline in vehicle traffic from California.
For the year, the 52.8 million passengers is running 9.4% higher than the 48.2 million passengers that passed through the Las Vegas airport through the first 11 months of 2022.
International visitors helped that number, with an 11.6% increase in November to 265,664 passengers. Domestic travel rose 5.7% to 4.4 million passengers.
Not all of the passenger traffic can be attributed to tourism. Las Vegas’ growth has fueled more local residents traveling.
“With 4.8 million passengers during the month of November, Harry Reid International Airport has already broken the previous annual record set in 2022. LAS connects the world to Las Vegas, whether for work, vacation, visiting loved ones, or attending a sporting or special event,” Rosemary Vassiliadis, Clark County Director of Aviation said in a statement. “While we will not have a final 2023 total until next month, the LAS team is already focused on a busy start to 2024. In the coming weeks, our community will be hosting CES and other major conventions, all the while preparing to host the first Super Bowl in Las Vegas’s history.”