Randall Walker, the man that runs the Las Vegas Airport (LAS), needs to get his head checked.
I know, it’s a pretty strong statement. But I had to say it. And now I’ll tell you why I (and many others) feel this way.
If you have traveled to the Las Vegas airport recently, you may have noticed that half of the C-Gates (where Southwest Airlines operates out of) are not being used. These gates are out of commission because they are redoing the tarmac in front of them; and because of this, Southwest Airlines is operating their flights out of the remaining C-Gates as well as most of the B-Gates.
The journey between the C and the B-Gates is not a short one. If you look at a map of the airport, you can see the distance between them. It takes me, an average person, around 15-20 minutes to make it from the far side of the C-Gates to the B-Gates. I can only imagine how long it takes for an elderly person to make that trip.
What you may not know is there is not much available in terms of easy transportation between the gates. If you are walking from the C-Gates to the B-Gates, parts of this walk are uphill. There are two short moving sidewalks (maybe 100 feet each?) right before the B-Gates, but that is it. There is no tram, shuttle, cart, etc. available to passengers to travel between these gates. There is a reason for this:
Southwest Airlines offered to purchase and run a shuttle between the C and B-Gates for their passengers. They presented this to the man that runs the airport, Randall Walker, and he denied their request. There would be no cost to the airport, none whatsoever; and yet he still denied it.
According to the Las Vegas McCarran International Website, their mission is, “To provide excellence in customer service and airport facilities.” I don’t see how they are providing excellent customer service and excellent airport facilities by denying transportation to passengers that are traveling a long distance between gates.
What’s it going to take for Randall Walker to change his mind and allow Southwest to run a shuttle between the gates that they operate? Someone passing out? Someone being injured? What about someone dying? It’s only a matter of time before something tragic happens.
So come on Randy, get your head straight and do what’s right for your airport!
