Las Vegas airport passenger traffic up 1.8 percent in February

Las Vegas’ airport passenger count remains ahead of schedule through the first two months of 2019.

McCarran International Airport saw 3.63 million travelers — arriving and departing — go though its gates in February, representing a 1.8 percent increase over the same month last year, the Clark County Department of Aviation announced Tuesday.

The total passenger count now sits at 7.54 million for the year, besting the total seen at the airport through January and February 2018 (7.34 million) by 2.6 percent.

This year is on track to best 2018’s record passenger count of 49. 7 million travelers at McCarran. Last year’s record bested the previous one set in 2017, where the airport saw 48.5 million passengers.

Southwest Airlines remains McCarran’s busiest carrier, but it saw an almost 1 percent decrease year-over-year, with 1.29 million passengers in February.

Spirit Airlines continued its momentum in adding to its passenger base, seeing 330, 266 travelers in February, a 15.5 percent increase over the same month last year. United Airlines also saw a significant gain, with the 307, 448 passengers in February representing an 11.8 percent increase over February 2017.

JetBlue saw a 19.5 percent decrease in passengers, going from 98,591 travelers last year to 79,348 this February.

Contact Mick Akers at makers@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2920. Follow @mickakers on Twitter.