On Tuesday, Harry Reid International Airport experienced numerous delayed and canceled Southwest Airlines flights due to a short-term technical issue that impacted many parts of the United States.
Per FlightAware, 202 Southwest flights at the Las Vegas airport were delayed on Tuesday, with three other flights being canceled. Additionally, the Los Angeles Times reported that Tuesday saw a total of 2,192 delayed flights nationwide on Southwest Airlines.
The airline attributed the delays and cancelations to “data connection issues resulting from a firewall failure,” according to a statement from Southwest. They also expressed their apologies for any inconvenience caused.
The delays caused a 0.8% drop in Southwest shares on Tuesday, according to CNBC. This event comes four months after the traditionally busy winter holiday season saw massive delays and cancelations by Southwest and other airlines in the US.
Southwest Airlines was particularly affected by the December issues, with nearly 17,000 flights cancelled in the US over 10 days and up to 75% of US flights being unable to fly on some days, according to CNN. This was attributed to a combination of stormy weather and inadequate equipment, as well as glitches in employee-scheduling computer systems.
To prevent similar issues in the future, the airline announced in March their plan to invest over $1 billion in an IT upgrade.
Looking to the future, Harry Reid Airport is expected to experience delays by the end of 2029 or possibly 2030 due to the increasing number of flights using the airport. In response, Clark County Director of Aviation Rosemary Vassiliadis highlighted the need for a second commercial airport in Southern Nevada, which is being proposed for a 6,500-acre property located between the towns of Jean and Primm, about 30 miles south of Las Vegas.
