LV airport traffic surges in August

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- Nearly 4.3 million people flew to and from McCarran International Airport in August, a 6 percent increase from the same month in 2006.

The busy month pushed the year-to-date total to 32.2 million, up almost 5 percent from the pace set in 2006.

Southwest remained the busiest carrier in Las Vegas with nearly 1.5 million passengers in August, up almost 11 percent.

US Airways, United, Delta and Continental rounded out the top five. Among those, only Delta and Continental had increases for the month. US Airways traffic was down 7 percent and United fell almost 6 percent.

Airlines that posted the biggest percentage increases were discount regional carriers. The 68,000 passengers Spirit Airways carried in and out of McCarran in August represented a 337 percent increase from August 2006.

ATA posted a 94 percent increase for the month. Aloha was up 73 percent, AirTran 40 percent, Frontier 38 percent and Allegiant 33 percent.

International traffic was also strong. About 187,000 people arrived and departed McCarran on scheduled service from terminal two, which is largely foreign traffic. That was a 14 percent increase. For the year international traffic is at nearly 1.5 million, 16 percent ahead of the 2006 pace.

Korean Airlines, LTU and MAXjet Airways were among airlines that didn't have scheduled service to McCarran in 2006, which contributed to the overall increase. Air Canada, the foreign carrier with most traffic at McCarran was up almost 4 percent in August.