Why doesn’t Harry Reid International Airport have a Terminal 2?

Back in the mid-2000s, the Clark County Commission made the bold decision to build a new $2.4 billion terminal building. The decision was tough because the nation was creeping toward the Great Recession but the need existed for more airport infrastructure, mainly gates for international arrivals that began flying again after the 9-11 disaster.

What was then McCarran International Airport had two terminals, Terminal 1 – the main arrival and departure point for domestic flights – and Terminal 2, a smaller, older facility with three gates that first opened in 1991 and was used by international carriers and charter flights.

As the new Terminal 3 began to emerge in the early 2010s, the Clark County Department of Aviation began planning to locate international gates on the eastern half of the building and some domestic carriers on the western half of the 14 gates. That enabled easier access for international carriers to U.S. Customs and Border Control facilities.

The bright, new Terminal 3 opened its doors in June 2012 and established a new standard of service to customers. At the time, Terminal 2 was still functional, mostly serving charter flights.

As usage picked up at Terminal 3, airport officials made the decision to close the old Terminal 2 and the building was demolished in 2014.

But when it went, the terminal numbering system didn’t change. Suddenly, McCarran had a Terminal 1 and a Terminal 3, but no Terminal 2.

That apparently will change in the years ahead.

In an expansion program explained Oct. 2 by the Department of Aviation to county commissioners, Terminal 1 will grow from 39 gates to 65.

Once the expansion project is underway, aviation officials are expected to designate what is now Terminal 3 to Terminal 2.

End result: No more confusion about an apparently missing terminal building.

Contact Richard N. Velotta at rvelotta@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3893. Follow @RickVelotta on X.