CES complains about Las Vegas air delays

Friday, Feb. 13, 2004 | 11:22 a.m.

The head of the association that produces the International Consumer Electronics Show testified before a House aviation subcommittee that the security screening process at McCarran International Airport resulted in delays of three to five hours, leading many convention delegates to miss their flights and vow never to return to Las Vegas.

Gary Shapiro, president and chief executive of the Consumer Electronics Association, Arlington, Va., said he received hundreds of complaints from show attendees who said they wouldn't come back because of delays that occurred Jan. 11, the last day of the show.

Shapiro told the subcommittee, receiving testimony on passenger and baggage screening efforts, that the complaints are of grave concern to his association. The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority took the unprecedented step of issuing a formal apology to convention delegates who were inconvenienced by delays.

"While the high volume of attendees and exhibitors traveling to and from Las Vegas present many logistical and transportation challenges, such challenges should not act as a deterrent for people looking to attend CES in the future," Shapiro said in a letter to the subcommittee.

CES is one of the city's largest trade shows and about 130,000 people attended January's four-day event.