McCarran’s July traffic much more closely mirrored pre-pandemic figures than June, when 3.8m people passed through the airport for a 37% decline from the same month two years prior.
The airport’s increased passenger count indicates that Las Vegas is approaching near-normal domestic visitation as before the pandemic.
Southwest Airlines led all carriers with 1.5m travelers, topping the airline’s 1.48m passengers in July 2019. Frontier Airlines traffic was up 40%, as 368,000 passengers came through McCarran last month compared to 263,000 in July 2019.
Domestic airlines were responsible for 4.02m flyers compared to 4.08m the same month two years ago.
International travel on the other hand was down 80% from July 2019, generating about 64,000 flyers.
Through the first seven months of 2021, McCarran has received 20.1m passengers, down 32.5% over the same period two years ago.
July was the second month in which southern Nevada casinos were allowed to operate at full capacity with no masks or social distancing mandates for fully vaccinated people. However, an indoor mask mandate was brought back at the end of July for much of Nevada including Clark County, home to Las Vegas.
Those who fly to Las Vegas will soon be greeted by a new airport name. The Clark County Board of Commissioners voted to rename the airport after former U.S. Sen. Harry Reid earlier this year.
On Thursday, professional gambler Billy Walters and his wife Susan said they will donate $1m to the airport rebranding efforts, which could exceed $7m in total.
"Harry Reid is very deserving of this great honor and Susan and I want to help make it a reality," Walters said. "Harry has been a warrior for the people of Nevada, especially working people and people in need. He is a man of integrity and I am proud to call him a personal friend."
Rebranding is expected to begin later this year.
