A third terminal is in the pipeline for McCarran International Airport, Las Vegas, despite concerns from airline officials.

The new terminal is scheduled to open in 2012 and will feature an elevated roadway system, a new baggage handling system, 14 aircraft gates, federal inspection services, and three pedestrian bridges from terminal to parking.

Earlier this week, county commissioners awarded the $1.2 billion construction contract to Perini Building.

Before the vote, several airline executives sent a letter to airport officials asking them to postpone the project because of the current state of the airline industry.

Bob Montgomery, Southwest Airlines’ Vice-President of Properties, said passengers shouldn’t have to pay higher fees to cover airport upgrades in the current economic situation, but Rory Reid, County Commission Chairman, argued that with more hotel rooms opening in Las Vegas over the next several years, it’s not in the community’s interest to stop the third terminal in favor of “the short-term interests of the airline industry”.

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