UPDATE 1-U.S. agency clears way to rename Las Vegas airport

(Updates throughout with FAA, airport comment.)

By David Shepardson

June 24 (Reuters) - The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has cleared the way to rename Las Vegas's international airport after former senior U.S. Senate Democrat Harry Reid, but private funds must still be raised to cover changes to airport signs and other costs.

In a letter seen by Reuters, the FAA said it had "finished the necessary processing steps" after the Clark County Department of Aviation requested the change in April.

The request, which will change the name of McCarran International Airport to Harry Reid International Airport, has been "published in various flight charting and navigation databases," the FAA said in its letter dated Wednesday, but the county must update and submit additional regulatory documents.

Las Vegas was the seventh busiest airport in the United States by passenger traffic in 2020, according to FAA statistics.

Airport spokesman Joe Rajchel said a condition of the renaming was donations from private parties to facilitate the necessary logistics changes, which will be undertaken in three phases.

"We estimate the combined cost of these phases will be approximately $7 million, all of which must come by way of private donations," Rajchel said in an email, adding it was premature to provide a timeline for the project.

The FAA noted in a statement that it "does not name airports" and that the name change was a local decision by the Clark County Board of Commissioners.

Reid represented Nevada in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives and was the Senate Democratic leader for 12 years. He retired in 2017 after more than 30 years in Congress. (Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Sonya Hepinstall and Jane Wardell)