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Don't Expect to See Microjets Over McCarran, Off Icials Say

Posted on: Monday, 6 March 2006, 15:00 CST

By Chris Jones

By CHRIS JONES

GAMING WIRE

Many are the jets now soaring above McCarran International Airport.

But "mini," those jets are not.

And airport leaders hope to keep things that way.

Despite this year's expected introduction of "microjets" or "very light jets" - the five- to six-passenger aircraft some insiders say will revolutionize executive travel - Southern Nevada's largest passenger airport won't welcome the latest innovation in point-to- point travel.

Instead, they'll do all they can to persuade microjet operators to fly elsewhere, most likely smaller airfields in North Las Vegas or Henderson, to prevent further congestion at McCarran.

"If you have to make a choice between one (aircraft) with six (passengers) and one with 150, the one with 150 would be the better choice," Clark County Aviation Director Randall Walker said.

The nation's sixth-busiest passenger airport is already challenged by surging traffic levels as travelers from around the world increasingly flock to local tourist attractions and trade shows.

Though the count is still unofficial, Walker said last week McCarran hosted 44.2 million passengers in 2005, an airport record.

Rising passenger counts have also brought added flights. The Federal Aviation Administration's air-traffic control tower at McCarran reported 556,527 takeoffs or landings through November 2005. That's up more than 2 percent from the 544,679 operations handled in all of 2004.

And neither year's data included a single microjet, the first of which is expected to receive FAA certification this summer.

McCarran hopes to soon limit small-plane traffic, which the FAA classifies as "general aviation," to 10 percent of the operations at McCarran's airfield, which also includes two general aviation terminals.

That percentage is now approximately 11 percent, down from 40 percent in the early 1990s.

That 10 percent goal stems from simple economics: small planes require more time to taxi, land and take off than a jumbo jet, so their presence at McCarran limits the number of travelers commercial airlines can ferry in and out of town using larger planes.

Federal rules prevent airports from banning general aviation pilots from an airport, though they can dissuade unwanted traffic using high fees or offering limited space for small aircraft to park.

"You encourage them to go where it's most effective systemwide," Walker explained.

McCarran's general aviation facilities typically fill on weekends and peak periods, and the aviation department has no plans to add such space there.

"That's why we're developing Henderson (Executive Airport) ... and expanding the east side of North Las Vegas Airport to handle more general aviation," Walker said, adding that no one has approached him with plans to operate microjets locally.

Del Meadows, the FAA's air traffic hub manager at McCarran, took a neutral position on microjet's local use.

Controllers treat all aircraft equally, he said.

"We'll provide the same level of service and safety, no matter the type," he said.

Source: Las Vegas Review - Journal

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