McCarran International Airport is Las Vegas’ main commercial civilian airport. It is located in the non-industrial area of Paradise, 8 km from the business center of the entertainment capital of the USA. The airport owes its name to the former senator of Nevada – Pat Mccaren. As part of the $51 million projects, the eight internal gates in Gate D (D19-D26) closest to Hall E were converted into seven “swing” gates capable of receiving domestic and international flights.
An underground pedestrian crossing connected the gate to the customs post in Terminal 3. The D21 /D22 gate was converted into the only 3-aircraft gate at McCarran; this was done to provide a good seating area for the Airbus A380 double-decker aircraft. This conversion led to the conversion of the D23 exits to D22A, and this “swing” gate project was completed in June 2017. In addition, since the beginning of the year, the reconstruction of the ticket sales and baggage claim areas of Terminal 1 has been underway at the cost of $ 30 million. December 2016 (Nghiêm-Phú & Suter, 2018). Improvements include renovated bathrooms and new ticket counters.
The development plan also includes the development of low-cost airlines and “secondary” airports, an increase in the reserved territory and the development of urban planning schemes of airport cities (for example, corridors). Moreover, the relocation of the headquarters of large companies closer to airports, the development and implementation of intelligent technologies, the development of public spaces of airports, and in some cases even an increase in real estate prices located near the air hub.
In conclusion, economic and social reasons drive the development of airports, and their infrastructure presents ample opportunities for multifunctional development. For developing countries, creating an effective aviation communication network can be a serious driver of economic growth, increasing connectivity and manageability of the territory. As world experience shows, the largest air hubs evolve into powerful clusters with urban infrastructure and become quite independent economic and social activity centers, providing support to the largest megacities and the surrounding region.
Reference
Nghiêm-Phú, B., & Suter, J. R. (2018). Airport image: an exploratory study of McCarran International Airport. Journal of Air Transport Management, 67, 72-84. Web.