Mon, Jul 21, 2008 (2:08 a.m.)

Clark County commissioners last week approved a plan to build a third terminal at McCarran International Airport over the objections of airline industry officials.

With the high price of fuel, airlines are trying to trim expenses and are concerned about paying for new terminal space. They also note that passenger counts are down and airlines including US Airways, McCarran’s second-largest carrier, are planning to cut the number of flights to Las Vegas. They paint a doom-and-gloom scenario and point to other airports that are contracting. They want McCarran to slow down and rethink its $3.5 billion capital plan, including construction of the $1.8 billion Terminal 3.

McCarran chief Randall Walker said he would review all of the airport’s construction projects, but he said the new terminal is needed. It is clear why. For years the airport has struggled to keep up with rapid growth, and it has come close to reaching its capacity.

Nearly half of Las Vegas’ 39 million annual visitors come by plane, and that number is likely to increase over the next few years because of the building boom on the Strip.

As reported by Michael Mishak in Thursday’s Las Vegas Sun, Walker wants to be prepared for the 30,000 new hotel rooms that are expected to open on the Strip in the next three years. “If we do not build Terminal 3, it will be a self-fulfilling prophecy that those hotels cannot get filled,” Walker said.

As Commission Chairman Rory Reid put it, delaying construction would “ensure we don’t have the capacity to make our tourist-driven economy successful.”

Still, airport officials should work with the airlines to address their concerns and be careful to do only necessary work. But the commissioners were right to plan for the future and approve the new terminal building. Las Vegas has always rebounded from economic slowdowns and gone on to unprecedented growth. We expect this time will be no different.