The Pittsburgh International Airport’s new landside terminal mostly cruised through its first day of operations Tuesday.

Perhaps the most notable snag was a technical issue at the Transportation Security Administration checkpoint in the early morning hours, temporarily snarling lines.

Besides that, passengers and airport officials had little negative to report about the terminal, the core piece of modernization project that took four years, $1.7 billion and 16,000 tons of structural steel.

“It’s been a great day. We have opened successfully,” said Christina Cassotis, CEO of the Allegheny County Airport Authority. “We’re really proud and excited of what we’ve built and what people can travel through.”

Opening

The terminal opened at 2 a.m. and delivered on its promise to make travel quicker, easier and more aesthetically pleasing. About 260 commercial flights left or landed at the airport as of 3 p.m. Tuesday.

When Mary Jo Fekete stepped into the new terminal Tuesday morning, the first thing that caught her eye was the display of 4,500 constellation lights twinkling across the soaring vaulted ceilings.

“It’s phenomenal,” said Fekete, 54, of Shaler. “I’ve been following all of the social media, print media coverage, so I knew what to expect, but when you see it live, it’s just amazing. What they’ve done is beautiful.”

Airport officials have touted the project as bringing the facility in line with other airports across the country.

The old terminal opened in 1992, when the airport was a booming hub for U.S. Airways. The airline left town in 2004, forcing the airport to shift its focus from connecting flights to routes where Pittsburgh is the departure point or destination.

The first arriving passengers to use the new terminal landed at 5 a.m. out of San Francisco, and the first departing flight was a Southwest Airlines flight to Denver, which left at 5:30 a.m., according to Cassotis.

Zac Gibson | TribLive Mary Jo Fekete of Shaler was among the first travelers inside the new landside terminal Tuesday morning at Pittsburgh International Airport.   Allegheny County Airport Authority CEO Christina Cassotis talks about the first day of operations at Pittsburgh International Airport’s new terminal. pic.twitter.com/4AhwSZWf2g

— Jeff Himler (@jhimler_news) November 18, 2025

Feedback has been “overwhelmingly positive” so far, according to Cassotis, and operations went well aside from a few hiccups around people returning rental cars to the former location.

There are other signs that it’s the terminal’s first day. Two messages in the ticketing area tended to play over one another, for instance. But all issues have been minor, airport officials said.

Security checkpoint

Transportation Security Administration lines have been performing well, too, according to Cassotis, thanks to training ahead of time.

“This morning, the lines were a little long — I mean 20 minutes — but that’s not bad,” she said. “When you have all of the TSA equipment in one line… you have visibility into how close you are, and people were not anxious.”

Agency spokesman Ian Cava said technical issues snarled lines in the early morning hours. Besides that, wait times have stayed under five minutes.

Several improvements have sped lines along, according to Cava. For one, the checkpoint is consolidated into a single site and has 12 lanes, unlike the old terminal, which had seven lanes across two areas.

Passengers can keep their electronics in their luggage and their shoes on their feet thanks to new technology used by TSA officers, which also keeps lines moving.

“That was pretty efficient to get through, even for TSA PreCheck standards,” said frequent flier Heather Ianvale, 29, of Chicago, after navigating the checkpoint Tuesday afternoon.

Light day of travel

Cassotis said airport officials chose to open on a Tuesday because it’s typically a lighter travel day.

“We’re expecting about 20,000 passengers today,” she said. “Yesterday, we had about 30,000.

“It gives everybody a chance to test, take the final exam for all the quizzes we’ve been taking through the open houses and trials.”

Kristina Serafini | TribLive Travelers walk near the ticketing booths Tuesday morning inside the new terminal at Pittsburgh International Airport.  

Including Pittsburgh International Airport customer service team members and volunteer ambassadors, there were 65 people on staff today, spokesperson Bob Kerlik said. Numerous canines were at work, as well, through the airport’s therapy dog program, Pit Paws.

To Beth Tigges, the new terminal was “gorgeous.”

“I’ve been looking forward to this,” she said. “I’ve been watching the construction for months, seeing the changes.”

Tigges, 67, of Albuquerque, New Mexico, grew up in Churchill. She was in Pittsburgh for the week visiting her 96-year-old dad who lives in Oakmont.

As soon as she got through TSA, she started texting her dad to give him the details of the new terminal. Since she flies to visit her dad about six or seven times a year, she’s been keeping a close eye on the construction process.

“I love the tunnel and the bridge motifs coming in,” Tigges said, referencing the “Skybridge” that takes travelers from TSA to the boarding areas. “I came a little earlier and wanted to look around.”

Though her flight isn’t until 4:12 p.m., she left Oakmont at 12:30 p.m. She was eager to see the finished project — and worried about possible delays.

“I’m really happy not to ride the (tram) anymore,” Tigges said. “Food stuff’s been shut down for months here; it’s fun to have more local things.”

Tigges’ only issue was that she didn’t see a sign to for where she could fill up her rental car with gas. Otherwise, the signage was great.

And she didn’t have to wait in lines, she said.

“Everyone’s smiling, and I’m hearing people say how they like it,” Tigges said. “I’m so excited about this. It’s just wonderful, and it’s going to show of Pittsburgh really nicely.”

Praise for architecture

Gina Konopack of Forest Hills and Annie DeArmit of McCandless helped with the design of one of the terminal’s new eating establishments, Cafe Conmigo.

But they came to the airport Tuesday morning to catch a flight to New York.

Konopack was impressed by the design elements in the airport that reflect the Pittsburgh area — including the pedestrian bridge and tunnel inspired by the Fort Pitt Tunnel that introduces many visiting motorists to the city.

“I love the ties to all things Pittsburgh,” Konopack said. “I think the architect did a great job coming here and learning about Pittsburgh. It’s a good day to be here.”

Kristina Serafini | TribLive Passengers arrive to the new terminal at Pittsburgh International Airport on a flight from New York on Tuesday morning.  

“The parking was easy,” said DeArmit. “With the signage out there, it was easy to figure out where to go.”

Fekete, the traveler from Shaler, left home early Tuesday morning to enjoy the new terminal. She and her husband ate at Cafe Conmigo before heading up to security. Her business trip flight was scheduled to depart at 10:35 a.m., with a layover in Washington, D.C. and final destination of Hartford, Connecticut.

“We left early on purpose because he wanted to come in with me and experience it together,” she said. “I had another business trip last week in the old airport. I did get a little choked up when it was my last tram ride.”

Travelers can find 20 new or refurbished concessions, including local and national brands like Mineo’s Pizza House, two Café Conmigo locations, Shake Shack, Jimmy John’s and Hammer Made clothing. Some restaurants like Bad Egg Breakfast Bar and Mi Casa Cantina are still under construction.

All of the plane gates got new seating and more outlet stations as well.

Parking

When arriving to the old terminal, Fekete said she still would’ve left her house just 30 minutes earlier than Tuesday morning, for one reason: the parking.

“I would’ve left at 7:30 — worried about finding a parking space,” she said. “Now, we don’t have to worry about that anymore. In long-term, I could’ve driven for a half an hour before finding a parking space.”

The new terminal’s parking options have red and green lights, indicating available spaces.

Kristina Serafini | TribLive Bob Mulvin of the North Shore heads toward the TSA lines Tuesday morning during the grand opening of the new terminal at Pittsburgh International Airport.  

Meagan Kohrs of Hempfield was able to see the new terminal, although that’s not what she had planned.

Kohrs arrived Monday evening to drop off her friend, Brittany Perez, for a Breeze Airways flight to Fort Myers, Fla. But Kohrs said the flight departed 20 minutes early, causing Perez to miss it. The two returned Tuesday morning so Perez could catch a new flight on Southwest Airlines.

“But it worked out because now I got to see the new terminal,” Kohrs said of the Tuesday flight.

Kohrs said the bright atmosphere and clear signage and layout are a big improvement from the old terminal.

“I’m really impressed with everything they did,” she said. “It was definitely worth the wait.

“It’s definitely a lot easier to find parking. If you get lost here, I don’t know what to tell you. I don’t think it’s possible, where in the other one it was easy to get lost.”

Perez said she has been to the airport only twice, but gave the new terminal good marks for the decor. “It’s clean and it’s kind of artsy, which is nice,” she said.

Kohrs said some people will miss the people mover train that was used to connect the old landside terminal to the airside. She said the bridge that has replaced it in the new terminal should be fine — even for her 80-year-old grandmother.

“She thought it was going to be a lot of walking, but this seems not bad at all,” Kohrs said.

Kristina Serafini | TribLive Seen through one of the many artistic features, a passenger waits for their belongings at baggage claim inside the new terminal at Pittsburgh International Airport on Tuesday morning.  

Business traveler Bob Mulvin, who lives on Pittsburgh’s North Shore, is glad that the airport people mover has made its last trip.

“Not having to travel on the train will be great,” he said. “It’s just another step in the process when you travel all the time.”

Mulvin, who works in the transportation field, flies in and out of the airport nearly every week.

“It’s a lot cleaner layout,” he said of the new terminal. “I’m just hoping for a smooth experience.”

“With the old airport, it got pretty congested at TSA,” Mayers said.

Jeff Himler is a TribLive staff writer. He can be reached at jhimler@triblive.com. Megan Swift is a TribLive staff writer. She can be reached at mswift@triblive.com. Jack Troy is a TribLive staff writer. He can be reached at jtroy@triblive.com.

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