Airlines Question Las Vegas McCarran Expansion Plans

Plans for the expansion of McCarran International Airport are being questioned by a number of airline officials.

A new $2.4 billion terminal at the Las Vegas airport is expected to open in 2012, but passenger traffic is down by 4.8 percent compared to 2007, The Associated Press reports.

Linda Macey, Properties Manager for Southwest Airlines, told the news provider: "There is clearly not a current need for increased capacity."

She added that the carrier, which accounts for 35 percent of passengers at the airport, will not be increasing its daily flights from 240 to 350 as was planned.

"We are evaluating our flight schedules at Las Vegas and throughout the country on a daily basis right now," she said.

"With the uncertainty of fuel prices and the economy right now, it is certainly fluctuating a lot more frequently than it had in the past."

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