‘Harry Reid’ airport name on the horizon, but FAA has not given OK yet

FILE – In this March 19, 2020, file photo a plane takes off at McCarran International Airport, now Harry Reid International Airport, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher, File)

by: 8NewsNow staff

Posted: Jun 16, 2021 / 12:25 PM PDT

Updated: Jun 16, 2021 / 12:26 PM PDT

LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — Earlier this year, Clark County commissioners voted to change the name of McCarran International Airport to Harry Reid International Airport.

New navigation maps from the Federal Aviation Administration show the new name, but today, airport officials say they have not received official approval from the FAA.

Clark County — and Commissioner @tsegerblom — remind that the name change hasn’t become official yet, and private fundraising to cover the costs continues. If you want to donate, here’s how: pic.twitter.com/CKibABHdMw
— Steve Sebelius (@SteveSebelius) June 16, 2021

The cost of the name change is being paid with privated donations.

Today, Commissioner Tick Segerblom tweeted that about a third of the $3 million for that effort has been raised.

For more than 50 years, the airport has honored former U.S. Sen. Patrick McCarran, who helped get it built. Critics of McCarran, who represented Nevada for 20 years starting in the 1930s, say he had a history of racism and anti-Semitism.