‘Goodbye, Terminal 3,’ plan would expand Las Vegas airport, rename existing terminal

Plans would expand Terminal 1, build new one-way road

By David Charns

(KLAS) — Harry Reid International Airport’s Terminal 3 would become Terminal 2 as part of a wide-ranging plan to expand the existing airport’s two facilities and add dozens of gates.

Leaders with the Clark County Department of Aviation were expected to present an improvement plan at the Oct. 1 Clark County Commission meeting. As of Wednesday, the plan had yet to carry a price tag in publicly available documents.

In 2023, the airport set a new high for passenger traffic — a record 57.6 million passengers — a 9.4% increase over 2022. Its traffic is ranked among the top 10 in the country, partially due to the number of private aircraft.

The airport’s modernization plan would expand and renovate Terminal 1, maximize passenger traffic inside Terminal 3, and better connect the two facilities, documents said. Under the current configuration, there is no Terminal 2.

“Our goal is to ensure that Harry Reid International Airport remains the centerpiece of our large hub commercial airport and combined with the supplemental airport, will become the flagship of our entire airport system,” the presentation said. “The reimagined campus will enhance guest experience and more efficiently maximize airport operations with improved ways to connect people to the region. Safe and convenient multimodal centers will accommodate visitors and the local communities throughout the valley.”

As part of the plan, the existing piers at Terminal 1, which mainly house Southwest Airlines, would be demolished and replaced with concourses. The existing terminal houses 39 gates. The new pier-concept terminal would have 65.

Terminal 3, which opened in 2012, would be renamed Terminal 2. The original Terminal 2 was demolished in 2016. Airport leaders hope to install new escalators to better move passengers from the terminal to the post-security side.

In addition, a new one-way circular road would better connect the two terminals and two multimodal centers for ride-share and public transportation options. Currently, ride-share drivers pick passengers up in the two airport garages.

To alleviate congestion at Reid Airport, a new airport, called the Southern Nevada Supplemental Airport, is in its planning stages for a strip of land in Jean – about a half-hour south of the current site.

“The new commercial airport will open airspace, roadways, require new terminal buildings and general aviation to accommodate future growth,” the aviation department said.

As 8 News Now reported in April, the new airport project was moving out of the near three-decade early planning phase and onto the environmental phase, with project completion planned for 2037.

The county changed the airport’s name in honor of late Democratic Sen. Harry Reid in 2021. All of the changes to signage, etc. were paid through donations and non-public funds.