The North Las Vegas Airport opened as Sky Haven Airport on December 7, 1941. The airport, the creation of John and Florence Murphy and their partner, John Barrett, was celebrating its opening day when news of the air raid on Pearl Harbor came. The scheduled flying demonstration was immediately put on hold as the nation progressed to war.

McCarran International Airport is central to the long history of aviation in Clark County. It is the second airport to bear the name of Nevada's first native-born United States senator, and today it accounts for nearly sixty percent of all visitors to Las Vegas.

Nevada has played a crucial role in the creation of modern commercial aviation. In 1978, United States Senator Howard W. Cannon successfully sponsored the first bill deregulating the commercial airline industry, changing forever the face of aviation as we know it.

In 1934, Cannon became interested in flying while working on a law degree from the University of Arizona. In World War II, he served as a second lieutenant with the 440th Troop Carrier Group. After the war, Cannon continued to serve in the reserves, and retired as a major general.

The first all-jet powered airline in the United States was Las Vegas-based Bonanza Air Lines. Though the milestone was not reached until 1960, the airline began as part of an experiment in post-World War II commercial aviation service.