By Frank Anthony Forza

Staffwriter, Las Vegas Review-Journal

Las Vegas, Nev. — McCarran International Airport’s security gates will be expanded by next fall, but that was no consolation to thousands of fliers trapped in a travelers nightmare on Sunday.

Ridiculous.

Absurd.

Unbelievable.

Those were among the other words exasperated Las Vegas tourists uttered while suffering through some of the largest passenger gridlock the airport has had. The lines were the longest seen at McCarran since the week after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, when the airport first imposed tighter security measures, airport spokeswoman Hilarie Grey said. No security scares or threats caused Sunday’s congestion, Grey said. Airport officials eyed another culprit: the International Consumer Electronics Show.