Few American cities have been harder hit by the ravages of the pandemic than Las Vegas, Nevada. In 2019, the combined casinos of the glittering Las Vegas Strip brought in more than $12 billion worth of economic activity to the city, along with more than 42 million tourists from all over the world.
Of course all that changed in 2020 when casinos all over the world were forced to shut down entirely for several months. Though they’ve been allowed to reopen, it’s been at a capacity hovering between 25%-50% capacity. Not surprisingly, revenue is down for almost every Las Vegas casino, though not as much as one might expect.
But if Las Vegas is anything, it’s a place where hope springs eternally. So it is that the Las Vegas airport, McCarran, is adding routes to six new cities via Frontier Airlines in 2021. The new routes feature four domestic locations, El Paso, Little Rock, Oklahoma City, and Wichita; and two international locations, Los Cabos and Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.
In a statement reported on by 8 News Now, Daniel Shurz, senior vice president of commercial, Frontier Airlines described the expansion saying, “We’re excited to announce six new routes and expand our already robust service in Las Vegas. We have made a very strong commitment to Las Vegas, which is one of our largest bases, and continue to build on our partnership with the Entertainment Capital of the World through the addition of new service. We look forward to continuing our outstanding relationship with McCarran International Airport and the fabulous Las Vegas community.”
JetBlue, Allegient, and Alaska Airlines are also introducing new routes to Las Vegas in 2021.
While Las Vegas is always welcoming to new visitors, there’s little question that Sin City’s casino operators will be happy to see anyone who can make it there in 2021 at all – no matter where they flew in from.