Thursday, April 28, 2005 | 11:07 a.m.
More passengers used McCarran International Airport in March than any month in history, airport officials announced Wednesday.
The 3.9 million passengers who passed through McCarran's gates represented an 8.1 percent increase in the traffic reported in March 2004. The March total shattered the previous monthly traffic record of 3.7 million passengers set in July.
"For us to set a new record, in March 2005, by more than 200,000 passengers indicates this year is shaping up to be every bit as astounding as 2004 in terms of growing passenger numbers," said Randy Walker, director of the Clark County Department of Aviation, in a statement issued with March's statistics.
The March total brought first-quarter traffic to 10.4 million, 7.1 percent higher than the 9.7 million recorded in the first three months of 2004. The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority is only projecting a 2.1 percent increase in visitors for 2005.
The top four commercial passenger carriers at McCarran showed percentage increases in traffic in March, with market leader Southwest Airlines up 7.1 percent to 1.2 million passengers, one of the highest one-month totals for a single carrier.
America West showed an 11.7 percent increase for the month to 647,634 passengers.
Both Southwest and America West are undertaking major expansions in Las Vegas.
Another big winner was No. 3 United Airlines, which saw its passenger totals climb 9.8 percent to 290,695 despite its parent company operating under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
No. 4 Delta Air Lines, which analysts have said recently is again flirting with a bankruptcy court filing, had a 5.4 percent increase in passenger traffic at McCarran to 267,525.
Of the top five, only American Airlines showed a traffic decline for the month, falling 3.4 percent to 220,207.
Las Vegas-based Allegiant Air also had a strong month, increasing its passenger traffic 51.8 percent to 66,426. It now ranks No. 11 among 32 carriers operating at the airport.
Airport officials said April's opening of 11 new gates at the airport should help meet demands of increasing passenger traffic.
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