Could Laughlin Facility Become a Reliever for Las Vegas Airport?
When it comes time to build the new Southern Nevada Supplemental Airport south of Las Vegas in the Ivanpah Valley between Jean and Primm, local and federal government agencies are destined to spend billions of dollars for it.
Between the studies, reports, engineering and design costs and the actual construction, the new airport will likely be the most expensive public works project in Nevada history.
The first step of the process, completion of an environmental impact assessment, begins this summer with three public hearings July 29-31.
The most recent major from-the-ground-up airport to be built in the United States was east of Denver, opened in 1995, and it cost $4.8 billion, including $3 billion in construction costs. Initially, Denver International Airport was estimated to cost $2.9 billion and it ended up being about $2 billion over budget.
Today’s inflation-adjusted cost for DIA would be $8.8 billion.
When that airport initially opened, Denver residents were dismayed by the 45-minute commute or the 23-mile train ride from downtown Denver to the airport.
Idea from Laughlin
Meanwhile, just off the Colorado River at the southern tip of Nevada, Laughlin-Bullhead International Airport Director James Scheller has an idea that would greatly reduce costs for Southern Nevada’s newest planned airport.
The pitch: Use Laughlin-Bullhead International’s infrastructure as a foundation for a new reliever airport to supplement rapidly growing Harry Reid International Airport.
Scheller hopes to schedule a meeting with Clark County Department of Aviation leaders and members of the Clark County Commission to talk through his idea that not only could deliver rapid relief to Reid International’s growth, but could also bolster Laughlin as an emerging tourism hub.
Aviation leaders and experts say Scheller’s idea is fraught with logistical problems, but he believes the cost savings alone are enough to merit consideration.
It would start, he said, with the development of a memorandum of understanding that would enable Clark County to have a voice in the management of Laughlin-Bullhead International, which is operated by Arizona’s Mohave County.
One of the problems of the idea is that Clark County, which already oversees airports in North Las Vegas and Henderson, would need the authority to work with Laughlin-Bullhead, which is on the Arizona side of the Colorado River. The airport’s 8,500-foot runway runs parallel to the river and the location provides a view of the eight riverside casinos that line the Colorado.
Because Laughlin lies in Clark County, Scheller said much of the tax-generating commerce, including gaming taxes, would benefit Nevada.
Although the airport is in Arizona, Scheller believes the location wouldn’t be a showstopper for his idea. Many cities are served by airports in different nearby states. Among them: Cincinnati-Northern Kentucky International Airport in Hebron, Kentucky, serving Cincinnati across the Ohio River, and Bradley International Airport in Hartford County, Connecticut, which serves Springfield, Massachusetts.
Laughlin was considered
Rosemary Vassiliadis, director of the Clark County Department of Aviation, said a proposal to consider Laughlin-Bullhead International as a potential supplemental airport site was considered in the earliest look at the need for a secondary airport. Ultimately, she said, the Laughlin-Bullhead option didn’t make the list of the top five sites for a potential airport.
That assessment was made decades ago when Robert Broadbent led Clark County’s airport oversight.
Today, Vassiliadis said, the Laughlin option isn’t any better because it’s so far off the transportation grid.
The Ivanpah Valley site is around 30 minutes south of Las Vegas just off Interstate 15. Meanwhile, there’s no easy or direct way to get to Laughlin, 70 miles away and accessible via the future Interstate 11 or U.S. Highway 95 through Searchlight and Cal-Nev-Ari.
The Ivanpah site could have the option of high-speed rail once built between Southern California and Southern Nevada. There’s no such option to Laughlin.
Vassiliadis said the location isn’t even the main reason Laughlin-Bullhead didn’t make the cut for further study. She said the more important reason involves the scientific principles of flight – density altitude.
Density altitude is used to assess an aircraft’s aerodynamic performance under certain weather conditions. The hotter the temperature, the more challenging it is for aircraft to climb after takeoff.
Vassiliadis said the concern is that in summer months, Laughlin can soar up to 125 degrees making it more difficult for heavier planes to climb above the desert mountains surrounding the Colorado River valley.
Scheller disputes Vassiliadis’ assessment.
‘Not an issue’
“According to our records, air density is not an issue. Although there may be occasions where it can get very hot, I think she is stating something that does not affect all aircraft,” Scheller said. “Regional jets are more affected by the hot weather than larger single widebody jets. An (Airbus) A320 (jet) will perform better than a regional jet in the hot weather. It is an airline and aircraft manufacturing concern and not an airport director’s concern.”
Scheller said several airlines, including Delta, American, JetBlue and Allegiant, have certified Laughlin-Bullhead as an appropriate diversion airport to land in an emergency. Besides, he said, Laughlin doesn’t get that much hotter than Las Vegas on typical summer days – although Reid International has the benefit of having a runway that is 14,515 feet long.
Scheller believes the assessment that Laughlin-Bullhead would have density altitutde challenges is based on old data before the airport extended the length of its runway to 8,500 feet.
When the pros and cons of Laughlin-Bullhead are listed, Scheller always goes back to the airport’s in-place infrastructure resources, the timeliness of addressing growth at Reid International faster and the economics of two airport authorities working together in a time when governments are slashing budgets.
The airport has a comfortable terminal building with gates and counter space for Sun Country Airlines, which flies casino charter flights to and from the airport, and Southern Airways Express, which is adding commuter flights to and from Southern California.
An on-airport fire station is managed by Mohave County and Transportation Security Administration checkpoints are manned when flights are scheduled. The runway can accommodate a plane as large as a Boeing 747 and passenger traffic on up to 240 monthly charter flights draw customers from Laughlin, Bullhead City, Kingman, the rural towns in the area and Needles, California, in addition to bringing gamblers in.
Laughlin-Bullhead also serves general aviation and the airport successfully served as an overflow plane parking facility for fans attending the Formula One race in Las Vegas in November.
Laughlin tourism
Steve Hill, president and CEO of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, admits that he doesn’t know enough about Scheller’s proposal to make an assessment, but he concurs that developing airline traffic is important in boosting the tourism potential for a place like Laughlin.
The LVCVA markets Laughlin tourism generally by supporting sponsorships for special events at casino entertainment venues.
Aviation expert Michael Boyd of Colorado-based Boyd Group International concurs with Vassiliadis about Laughlin being too far away from Las Vegas to be a suitable location for a supplemental airport, but he likes Scheller’s innovative thinking.
“There may be nothing but iguanas living in the desert between Bullhead City and Las Vegas, but I give the guy an A-plus for trying to think outside the box,” Boyd said. “He’s trying to develop more scheduled service and grow the airport. It’s a shot in the dark, but that’s the kind of thinking we need more of in aviation planning.”
Contact Richard N. Velotta at [email protected] or 702-477-3893. Follow @RickVelotta on X.
©2025 Las Vegas Review-Journal. Visit reviewjournal.com.. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.