LAS VEGAS (FOX5) — These days Harry Reid International Airport is known as one of the busiest in the country with more than 550 inbound flights every day, but back in the day it offered no jet service at all.
On this day in 1960, that changed when United Airlines landed its first commercial flight at what was then known as McCarran Airport.
The airport opened in 1943 as Alamo Field. Five years later it was renamed for U.S. Senator Patrick McCarran.
Initially McCarran Airport was seen as a model for air transportation, but the arrival of United highlighted its need for expansion.
It was simply too small to handle the size of commercial jetliners, and the increased number of passengers they brought to Las Vegas.
Clark County began the airport’s first major expansion in 1963.
It’s now grown to the point where it greeted more than 58 million passengers in 2024.
They traveled to and from more than 150 cities on 30 different airlines.
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