Harry Reid International Airport Reports 3.9% Decline in Passenger Traffic for March

Passenger traffic at Harry Reid International Airport declined by 3.9 percent in March compared with a year ago when the airport had its third-highest count in history, the Clark County Department of Aviation reported Tuesday.

Domestic and international traffic was down for the month with flights on Canada-based airlines a large part of the decline.

Reid officials said there were 4.8 million passengers for the month with 4.5 million domestic arrivals and departures, down 4.3 percent, and 312,901 international, off 0.5 percent.

Among the international passengers, discount carrier WestJet was down 14.5 percent to 64,011 from a year ago while flag carrier Air Canada fell 5.9 percent to 56,687 from March 2024. Competitor Porter Airlines which was relatively new to the market in March 2024 had a 233.8 percent increase to 21,327 passengers this year.

Travel experts have been keeping a close watch on Canadian air traffic patterns after President Donald Trump’s announced tariff policies and his remarks about annexing Canada into the United States.

Domestic air carriers had a broad mix of double-digit percentage differences from March 2024. The airport’s No. 3 passenger carrier, Spirit, was down 28.7 percent to 447,482 passengers for the month, while JetBlue was up 28.5 percent to 82,741 passengers and Alaska Airlines climbed 16.5 percent to 185,312 passengers.

Southwest Airlines, Reid’s market leader, fell 3.1 percent for the month to 1.9 million passengers, while legacy carriers United (2.7 percent), Delta (2.3 percent) and American (0.9 percent) showed modest gains.

For the first quarter of 2025, passenger numbers are down 3.7 percent to 13.2 million arrivals and departures with domestic travel most responsible for the decline. For the first three months of the year, domestic passenger traffic is down 4.3 percent to 12.1 million, while international is up 4.9 percent to 920,286, with Aeromexico, Vivaaerobus and Korean Airlines up by double-digit percentages.

Southern Nevada visitation numbers and state and local gaming win statistics are expected to be released next week.

Contact Richard N. Velotta at [email protected] or 702-477-3893. Follow @RickVelotta on X.

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