Las Vegas Weekly

It’s good to be McCarran: Our airport is social and healthy

McCarran International Airport is the nation’s seventh-busiest, and one of the busiest in the world. As such, it generally operates as a model of efficiency and enjoys positive customer feedback. But this month, things got particularly good for our venerable airport.

A list of the world’s most “social” airports, compiled by Facebook, listed McCarran at No. 9. The list is based on the number of people who have shared that they were at McCarran on Facebook, as well as third-party location services that have integrated with the Facebook Places API, between August 2010 and November 2011. (Just in case you were curious, LAX is No. 1, followed by Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International, the nation’s busiest airport.)

In addition, Google and McCarran have created a new smartphone app that allows users to see a detailed map of the entire airport, including restaurants, restrooms and more. But it’s not just technology where McCarran rules. It’s also much healthier than most of its rivals.

A report released Tuesday by the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine listed McCarran as tied for fifth out of the nation’s 15 busiest airports for offering healthy meals to customers.

According to the report, at both McCarran and Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, 83 percent of restaurants offer at least one low-fat, cholesterol-free meal, and of McCarran’s 99 total eateries, 82 offered healthy options. That’s in contrast to 2009, when the number for McCarran was at 77 percent and ranked last on the Physicians list.

(Again, if you’re curious, the healthiest airport in the country is the Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport. Who knew?)