Las Vegas tourism numbers continue to be top of mind for many local officials.
According to Harry Reid International Airport officials, they are expecting passenger volume to drop, just over 2% for 2025.
This is due to national policies that are concerning some travelers as well as issues at Spirit Airlines.
Las Vegas is the second largest station for Spirit Flights.
VIDEO: Ryan Ketcham looks into how the Las Vegas airport is preparing for future growth
"They have a number of their fleet sitting on the ground right now. They have an issue with their engines, where there are cracks in the engines. They have to pull that engine off the plane, fix the cracks, put it back on the plane. That whole process takes about 300 days. Obviously, they can't just do a plane a year because it would take them 100 years to get this done. They have 50 planes sitting on the ground right now, which impacts us," said Ailevon Pacific Aviation Consulting Senior Director Joel Van Over.
In an earnings report released Tuesday, Spirit Airlines officials say adverse market conditions mean they may be out of business within the next year.
However, Las Vegas Airport officials say they have diversified the number of carriers that fly to the valley, and we will be okay.
They tell us Las Vegas is one of the top five fastest-growing airports, but with that growth comes growing pains.
Harry Reid International Airport is running out of room, and expansion is badly needed.
During Tuesday's Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) meeting, airport officials talked about immediate improvements to the airport as well as long-term plans for a new supplemental airport about 30 miles south in the Ivanpah Valley.
Officials say just 8 years from now, Harry Reid Airport is expected to be near full capacity, saying "LAS will be severely capacity constrained by 2033."
Improvement projects are now underway to get all airports currently in the valley ready to take on extra flights.
“It’s pretty exciting, you know. It feels like Harry Reid is already at capacity," said Ryan Desoto, who works in Aviation, visiting Harry Reid International Airport weekly.
Like many locals, Desoto tells me he sees room for improvement.
“You know, flying in on the weekends, it can get pretty congested, that can be a headache for travelers," said Desoto.
Well, crews are now working to address those concerns.
“How do we maximize? We have to modernize our facilities; the facilities we have, especially at Terminal 1, were designed in a different era," said Harry Reid International Airport Senior Director of Aviation Jim Chrisley.
Chrisley joined the airport presentation Tuesday. He says they can't expand the number of gates or size of the airport to add more flights, but he says they can modernize and make the terminals a little more spacious for guests, adding new customer experiences too.
“New restrooms, some additional concessions," said Harry Reid International Airport Managing Director of Planning, Bryant Holt. “New baggage handling systems, we’re considering examining some of the ticketing processing as well as the vertical circulation.”
Plus, they're also looking at a traffic study to add new routes to make our commute better within the airport.
“A problem on the thoroughfare doesn’t affect our visitors as they’re using the airport," said LVCVA President & CEO Steve Hill.
It's not just Harry Reid they're focused on. Work on the Henderson Executive and North Las Vegas Airport is key in expansion plans.
“North Las Vegas needs to be better prepared to handle an influx during the mega events," said Chrisley.
Meanwhile, work on Henderson starts in a couple of months.
“Fully gut the terminal and modernize it to make it look brand new," said Chrisley.
Work in North Las Vegas and at Harry Reid is ongoing, with new improvement projects coming soon, and work in Henderson is expected to begin in a couple of months.
Along with the current airport upgrades, a new supplemental airport is in the works between Jean and Primm in the Ivanpah Valley.
Channel 13 has covered several stories on the new airport plans and even an environmental review.
Construction on the project is expected to kick off late 2028 or early 2029, but it's not expected to open until 2037.
“Which will add that additional commercial capacity that we need," said Chrisley.
Desoto tells me it will be great for the community. I asked him if he was excited about the future of aviation in Las Vegas.
"Absolutely, with that new airport coming in, more flights, for people looking for jobs in aviation that’ll create new jobs," said Desoto.
Once again, the new supplemental airport will not be open in at least the next 12 years, but officials say the improvements they're currently working on at all airports will help make us ready for the future of aviation in our valley.
