LV air traffic down 7 percent

Wednesday, April 24, 2002 | 11:12 a.m.

Passenger traffic at McCarran International Airport was down 7 percent to 3.2 million people in March compared with the same month a year ago.

Airport officials also said that for the first quarter of 2002, traffic was down 8.3 percent to 8.3 million passengers compared with the same period a year earlier.

Airport traffic is a leading indicator of Southern Nevada's economy, since 45 percent of the area's visitors arrive by plane.

Three of the top five airlines serving McCarran had reduced passenger counts in March, including market leaders Southwest Airlines, down 4.8 percent to 974,780 passengers, and America West Airlines, down 14.5 percent to 479,600.

No. 4 United showed the biggest decline, 21.2 percent to 223,652 passengers.

Las Vegas-based National Airlines had a 4.3 percent increase in traffic to 209,338 passengers and Delta Air Lines was up 0.7 percent to 229,472.

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