McCarran International Airport (IATA: LAS, ICAO: KLAS, FAA LID: LAS) is the main airport for public and military use in the Las Vegas Valley, a metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Nevada. It is in Paradise, about 5 miles (8.0 km) south of Downtown Las Vegas. The airport is owned by Clark County and operated by the Clark County Department of Aviation. It is named after the late U.S. Senator Pat McCarran, a member of the Democratic Party who contributed to the development of aviation both in Las Vegas and on a national scale and was staunchly anti communist. LAS covers 2,800 acres (11.3 km2) of land.
The airport was built in 1942 and opened to airline flights in 1948. It has expanded since then and has employed various innovative technologies, such as common-use facilities. The airport has four runways and two passenger terminals. East of the passenger terminals is the Marnell Air Cargo Center, and on the west side of the airport are fixed-base operators and helicopter companies.
The airport has nonstop flights to cities in North America, Europe, and Asia. It is an operating base for Allegiant Air and a crew and maintenance base for Frontier Airlines, Southwest Airlines, and Spirit Airlines.
There have been attempts to rename the airport since 2012. Former U.S. Senator Harry Reid, a Democrat, Clark County Commissioner Tick Segerblom, another Democrat and Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak, another Democrat, are currently pushing for a name change. The proposed names are Harry Reid Las Vegas International Airport and Las Vegas International Airport.
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Inflight Video / Cockpit viewLanding RWY 26L / Boeing B777-300ER by Hervé M.