It is located five miles (8 km; 4 nmi) south of downtown Las Vegas,[3] in the unincorporated area of Paradise,[1] and covers 2,800 acres (4.4 sq mi; 11.3 km2) of land.

In December 1948, it was rechristened for U.S. senator Pat McCarran, and commercial airlines shifted to it from the Las Vegas Army Airfield.

McCarran later came to be seen as the model for the common-use approach to airport resources in the United States and pioneered radio-frequency identification of baggage.

George Crockett, a flight instructor, built Alamo Field in 1942 on the site currently occupied by Harry Reid Airport.

[9] In the meantime, the county held a bond election to fund construction work that would enable Alamo Field to handle commercial operations.

Proponents of the bond issue, who included the chamber of commerce and casino executives, sought the economic benefits of both an air base and a modern airport capable of serving the increasing numbers of tourists that they expected to arrive.

[8][11] With the help of U.S. senator Pat McCarran of Nevada, the county finalized a deal with Crockett to purchase his airfield the following year.

[13] The growth of the Las Vegas casino industry during the 1950s fueled a rise in air traffic; the city went from receiving 36,000 passengers in 1948 to nearly one million in 1959.

[16] The deregulation of the airline industry in 1978 led to an increase in the number of carriers at McCarran and prompted officials to accelerate their expansion plans.

The strategy capitalized on the fact that Las Vegas was open 24 hours a day and enabled the airline to decrease costs.

[22][23] America West charged low fares because it was the only carrier operating such a large number of flights at that time of night.

[22] By the late 1990s, Southwest Airlines had overtaken America West as McCarran's largest carrier and occupied all the gates in Concourse C. The company's high frequency of flights, cheap tickets, and collaboration with local resorts contributed to its success in the Las Vegas market.

In November 1996, Condor launched a route to Cologne, and Northwest Airlines commenced service to its hub at Tokyo's Narita Airport in June 1998.

[38][39] The airport first deployed computer systems known as common-use terminal equipment (CUTE) at gates and check-in counters.

[39] In 2003, it became the first airport in the country to install common-use self-service kiosks, which customers use to check in and obtain their boarding passes.

The company also changed its focus to providing nonstop flights between small towns and vacation destinations and expanded the number of cities it served from McCarran to 35.

The service was primarily targeted at tourists from western Canada, though the carrier also hoped to attract members of the large Filipino community in Las Vegas.

[53] By 2012, the company had eliminated all routes except for those to its hubs in Charlotte, Philadelphia, and Phoenix and its focus city at Reagan National Airport in Washington, D.C.[54][55]Fearing McCarran would soon exceed its capacity, the Clark County Commission began work on Terminal 3 in 2005.

[64][65] In 2017, the airport equipped seven gates in Concourse D to receive international flights and built a tunnel to connect them to the customs facility in Terminal 3.

[66][67] LATAM Airlines Brasil added a seasonal route to São Paulo, McCarran's first direct link to South America, in June 2018.

[72] In February 2021, the Clark County Commission voted unanimously to rename the airport after U.S. senator Harry Reid of Nevada.

[165][166] A 5,000-space consolidated rental car facility is located three miles (5 km) away and is linked to the terminals by shuttle buses.

[167] The Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada's public bus system serves the airport.

In game, it is often referred to as Camp McCarran, due to the presence of New California Republic troops using it as a military base.