Las Vegas has the strongest weekly rhythm of any big US airport. Sunday typically holds 8 of the 17 hours in the top security band, running from 5 AM to 1 PM. Tuesday and Wednesday have none.
Leave on a Sunday, leave early
The weekend ends all at once here. On Sunday, 14 hours sit at 20 minutes or more. Monday has 11, Thursday and Friday 10 each. Tuesday has 4, and Wednesday 3.
Monday has a second top-band stretch from 10 AM to 1 PM. If you’re staying over the weekend and flying home, a Tuesday flight changes the airport more than any trick at the checkpoint.
The quickest taxi of the big airports
The median flight here takes 6 minutes from landing to gate, and the slowest 1 in 10 take at least 12. Only 0.8% take 30 minutes or more, the lowest of the 12 busiest airports. Every month of the past year had a median of 6.
Southwest, the largest airline here, runs 5 and 9. Delta runs 7 and 12, United 7 and 13, Frontier 10 and 16.
That makes it one of the shortest whole trips of the 12: 27 minutes for a typical carry-on from landing to curb, and 34 on a slow one. A checked bag adds about 4. That bag figure is a judgement.
The D gates are the exception
The E gates are 2 to 7 minutes from the curb. The D gates are 6 to 19, by tram. They’re also shared: a D gate can end at Terminal 1 or Terminal 3 depending on the airline, so the person meeting you needs to know which.
Rideshares load in the parking garages: Level 2 at Terminal 1, the Valet Level at Terminal 3. Taxis load at doors 1 to 4 at Terminal 1, and on Level Zero near door 52 at Terminal 3.
Passport control is small but slow
International arrivals clear one hall, at Terminal 3. In the past year 28.4% waited over 30 minutes and 7.2% over an hour, higher than most gateways of any size. Three in four arrivals hold a foreign passport. In the 3 and 4 PM hours about 40% waited over 30 minutes, against 13% at 6 PM.
Priority Pass opens 2 of the 7 lounges, both The Club LAS, one for each terminal.
What this can’t tell you
The security pattern is a normal week. Convention weeks and fight weekends don’t survive a median, and those are the weeks this page can’t help with.
Walks at the D gates are closer to straight-line distances than routed walks, so trust them less.
Passport counts mix citizens and visitors, so a hall this heavy with visitors will look slow. Taxi figures cover domestic flights only.
Security bands are typical, not live, and not a guarantee.
Taxi and passport figures are measured. Security bands and walks are modelled. Bag time is judgement. Methods: security hours, taxi-in, landing to the curb.
Skycap looks up the typical band for your day and hour, so a Sunday departure gets a Sunday answer.
Typical security times are estimated from public passenger-throughput data. Not affiliated with any airport, airline or government agency.
The numbers behind this chart
| Hours | |
|---|---|
| Mon | 11 |
| Tue | 4 |
| Wed | 3 |
| Thu | 10 |
| Fri | 10 |
| Sat | 6 |
| Sun | 14 |
The numbers behind this chart
| Median | Slowest 1 in 10 takes at least | |
|---|---|---|
| Southwest | 5 | 9 |
| Delta | 7 | 12 |
| United | 7 | 13 |
| Frontier | 10 | 16 |