By Forrest Brown, CNN
Starting Tuesday, December 14th, some travelers heading to Las Vegas may notice a change in their itinerary.
On that day, the airport formerly known as McCarran International Airport is slated to become Harry Reid International Airport. The FAA code LAS remains the same.
The Clark County Board of Commissioners voted in February to rename McCarran after Harry Reid, the powerful Democrat who served Nevada in the Senate for decades, including a stint as majority leader in the Obama administration from 2007 to 2015.
“It is with humility that I express my appreciation for the recognition today,” Reid said in a statement released by CNN subsidiary KSNV.
“I would like to express my deep gratitude to Commissioner (Tick) Segerblom, the entire Clark County Commission and the many others who were involved in this renaming.”
According to the historical records of the US Senate, Reid was the sixth longest in the Senate of one of the two parties at a total of 12 years.
The airport is currently named after another US Senator. The late Pat McCarran served in Congress from 1933 to 1954.
“Historians have identified McCarran as a well-known aviation advocate, but also as an advocate of xenophobic and anti-Semitic policies throughout his career, prompting several Nevada political leaders to change the name of the airport,” KSNV reported.
The news comes as Las Vegas continues to grapple with the devastating economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The labor market is hardest hit among the major US metropolises. Vegas relies on leisure travel, business conferences, and large gatherings, but these sources of income are drying up.
That hit the passenger traffic hard at the airport. In 2020, around 22.2 million travelers passed its gates, meaning LAS passenger traffic was 56.9% lower than in 2019, according to the Clark County Department of Aviation.
A small ceremony is scheduled to take place at the airport on Tuesday to make the new name official.
The last change in the airport name in the United States came in 2019 when Louisville International Airport was renamed Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport. Ali was from the city of Kentucky.
The CNN Wire
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Photo above: A plane takes off at McCarran International Airport. Image Credit: AP Photo / John Locher, File
