McCarran International Airport

McCarran International Airport is the principal commercial airport serving Las Vegas and Clark County, Nevada, United States. The airport is five miles (8 km) south of downtown Las Vegas, in the unincorporated area of Paradise in Clark County. It covers 2,800 acres (1,100 ha) and has four runways. McCarran is owned by Clark County and operated by the Clark County Department of Aviation (DOA). McCarran Airport served as a hub for Great Lakes Airlines. It is a focus city for Allegiant Air and Southwest Airlines; and is the largest operation base for both Allegiant and Southwest. The airport became a crew and maintenance base for Spirit Airlines in February 2012. It is named after the former Nevada Senator Pat McCarran (1876–1954). In 2012 McCarran ranked 24th in the world for passenger traffic, with 40,799,830 passengers passing through the terminal. The airport ranked 8th in the world for aircraft movements with 527,739 takeoffs and landings. McCarran and the DOA are self-sufficient enterprises, requiring no money from the County's general fund. As of November 2009 Southwest Airlines operated more flights out of McCarran than any other airport. Southwest also carries the most passengers in and out of McCarran. Southwest currently operates out of 21 gates, primarily in Concourse C. Since 2008, Canadian airline WestJet has become the largest international carrier at McCarran.