openscope

About this facility

Las Vegas TRACON (L30), Las Vegas, Nevada, USA 606,732 annual operations in 2016 (FAA ATADS)

Located beside Terminal 1 in the same building as the LAS control tower, this consolidated approach control facility works all traffic in the Las Vegas metropolitan area.

Airspace

The L30 TRACON covers a fairly large area south of KLAS up to FL190. Class B airspace exists with tops of 10,000 over the Las Vegas metropolitan area, with a fairly complex structure designed to deconflict noncommunicative VFR traffic from IFR arrivals on arrival and departure procedures in and out of the valley.

Due to nearby Nellis Air Force Base (KLSV), just 11nm north of KLAS, the L30 TRACON does not extend north of Las Vegas. This also means that runways 19L/R are almost never used for arrivals, even when the winds are favourable for such configuration.

Instrument Procedures

For an American airport, the procedures are fairly automated, with the design of the SIDs and STARs taking a lot of weight off the controllers. Aircraft climb and descend via the procedures, and by design the traffic flow requires minimal intervention other than running the final.

Sectors Available in openScope

F - Final  (default)
D - Dagget Departure (unavailable)
M - Mead Departure   (unavailable)
Y - Canyon Departure (unavailable)
G - Granite Arrival  (unavailable)
L - Lake Arrival     (unavailable)
T - Satellite        (unavailable)
K - Keno             (unavailable)

Airports of Interest

KLAS (Primary Airport)

Mc Carran International
535,740 annual operations

Located 5 miles south of Downtown las Vegas, LAS is the primary commercial airport serving the Las Vegas Valley. The airport is a main hub for Southwest Airlines, Spirit Airlines, Allegiant Air and Frontier Airlines. It contains 2 sets of parallel runways; Runways 1L/R - 19L/R, almost parallel to the Vegas Strip, are primarily used for departures in a South-East Configuration. Runway 8L/26R is normally used for departing aircraft, while runway 8R/26L is used for arriving aircraft. Due to the close proximity of the runways, parallel simultaneous approaches are not allowed.

KVGT

North Las Vegas
159,430 annual operations
8.1nm North of KLAS

Known locally as Northtown, it is the second-busiest airport in the Las Vegas area and the third-busiest in Nevada. It is the primary airport in the Las Vegas area for general aviation and scenic tours, allowing McCarran International Airport to focus on airline flights

KHND

Henderson Executive
81,939 annual operations
6.5nm South of KLAS

Small reliever airport used primarily for general and private aviation.

KBVU

Boulder City Municipal
100,025 annual operations
16.2nm Southwest of KLAS

Remote general aviation airport serving Boulder City and nearest airfield to the famous Hoover Dam.

KLSV (Military)

Nellis Air Force Base
11nm North of KLAS

Nellis AFB is a USAF installation with military schools and more squadrons than any other USAF base. The airfield hosts air combat exercises and close air support exercises flown in Military Operations Areas.

Additional Resources

Detailed SOP