So, I've heard that one of the runways is closed from now until May 1st. That they are re-doing it to accommodate some gigantic new airbus planes.

That there may be arrival and/or departure delays at peak times of 30 to 120 minutes.

What have any of you heard? JMT, anything you can share?

And what are peak times? Is a Monday morning in December at, oh - 10 am a peak time?

If I have to have a departure delay leaving Vegas that's one thing. Hope they keep us in the terminal for that. But don't like the sound of those potential arrival delays.

Do planes really have enough fuel to fly around for 2 hours in a holding pattern on a regular basis?

I've heard about the same as you. They picked a swell time to do it too, didn't they? The holiday season.

Monday morning in December? That almost sounds like a trip being planned. There are several peak times and mid morning is one of them. 10am is not immune. That's about the time the early morning east coast flights start arriving. Most of the peak traffic is late afternoon and evening.

The extra fuel added to a flight is amazing. A little for the winds, a little for the weather over the plains, takeoff alternate, arrival alternate, FAR reserve, military training over White Sands NM, etc. It looks like a phone bill. They can add a little more for the runways if needed.

The runway that is closed is 25L/7R. That's the one closest and parallel to Sunset. I have seen a lot more flts landing to the south (kinda parallel to the strip) on runway 19L. That makes the right side of the plane a very scenic view.

Instead of a delay on the Las Vegas end, wouldn't they just change the departure times at the point of departure?

I'd hate to circle around LV for anytime over then minutes ....... and a two hour wait to land seems to be pure stupidity on someone's part.

We had to fly all over the Chicago airport (O'Hare??) for close to two hours while they cleared the runway during a heavy snowfall and it sure wasn't comfortable.

They do, it's called ground stops. It cuts down the circling for weather a great deal. It does not eliminate the holding patterns.

This pure speculation, but my best guess is that the planes will start to drop down early and start setting up for longer and more complex approaches. I would predict a worse problem with peak departures and long dreaded lines of planes waiting to leave.

We'll see.

I don't like sitting in airplanes any more so I'll either drive or walk these next few months.

Randy Walker from the Clark County DOA says the worst scenarios for delays would be Sundays and Thursdays when there are strong winds out of the southwest.


This makes sense to me as Sundays and Thursdays are busy travel days. Busy travel days are when there are the most delays due to slow boarding and connections. Delays cause unpredictable schedules in the skies. Unpredictable schedules in the skies cause long back ups in the air.

Strong winds out of the southwest dictate use of runway 19, landing to the south, parallel to the strip which has tight approach lanes.