Las Vegas Sun

April 23, 2024

Las Vegas’ McCarran tops list of buzzworthy U.S. airports

McCarran

Sam Morris

McCarran International Airport is seen Saturday, Oct. 26, 2013.

What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, except when travelers are stuck at the airport.

According to a new report from the media tracking company Zignal Labs, McCarran Airport was the most mentioned airport on online media during the busy travel season between Dec. 15 and Jan. 1, despite being only the ninth busiest airport in the U.S.

By contrast, Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta, host to the highest volume of passengers in the country, ranked fourth in media mentions.

What had people buzzing about their travel experiences?

Delays, storms, cancellations and other complaints ruled, as did gossip about celebrity sightings and atypical events, such as smuggling and passenger misconduct.

Southwest Airlines ranked as Las Vegas’ most-griped-about airline. McCarran’s highly active and growing social media presence likely also gave passenger web chatter a boost.

Here’s a look at the top 10 U.S. airports by media mention versus passenger volume:

Most mentioned

1. Las Vegas

2. Denver

3. LAX

4. Atlanta

5. JFK

6. San Francisco

7. Dallas/Ft. Worth

8. Chicago O’Hare

9. Phoenix

10. Charlotte

Highest passenger volume

1. Atlanta

2. LAX

3. Chicago

4. Dallas/Ft. Worth

5. JFK

7. San Francisco

8. Charlotte

9. Las Vegas

10. Phoenix

Follow Andrea Domanick on Twitter at @AndreaDomanick and fan her on Facebook at Facebook.com/AndreaDomanick.

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