Pittsburgh International Airport marked a milestone on June 24 when security agents handled more passengers on a single day than ever before.

Nearly 20,000 people flowed through the checkpoint that Monday, according to airport spokesman Bob Kerlik.

Some passengers reportedly waited well over two hours in the security line that stretched far into the hallway entering the landside terminal.

Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officials made some adjustments in hopes of shortening wait times, like moving all TSA PreCheck passengers to the airport’s alternate security checkpoint on the other side of the terminal between 4 a.m. and 7 a.m., the busiest time for security screening.

But it was just a stopgap measure. Airport officials are still warning passengers of a crowded airport. Kerlik said that in July, several airlines will be offering the most seats they have ever offered in Pittsburgh.

“We are going to see crowds like we did last week throughout the summer,” Kerlik said Monday.

Relief is on the horizon — but likely not until next year.

Airport officials said the $1.5 billion modernization project currently underway will increase capacity and efficiency at the airport’s security checkpoint.

It will be designed for the type of passengers the airport is currently seeing, known as origin-and-destination passengers, not for the travelers it used to see when it was a US Airways hub, when the vast majority of passengers traveling through the airport didn’t use the security gates because they were just there for layovers.

“With the new terminal, what you are going to see is an expanded and consolidated security checkpoint,” Kerlik said. “That way we will be able to maximize staff and get people through the lines much more quickly.”

Why long lines?

Older Pittsburghers may remember when the airport was a hub for US Airways and had many more passengers traveling through it.

At its height, Pittsburgh International ferried 20 million people through the airport annually thanks to its hub status, said Kerlik.

But only about 5-6 million of those were Pittsburghers using the airport’s security gate, with most just using Pittsburgh International as a layover to their final destination.

During the hub days, which ended in the early 2000s, the majority of passengers were just stuck in the airside terminal and had no interaction with the security checkpoint.

The security checkpoint was designed to handle that capacity — but not the volume of passengers it is seeing now, according to Kerlik.

Today, about 10 million passengers go through security, causing significant backups, particularly during the airport’s busiest time from 5 a.m. to 8 a.m. when airlines are scheduling the most seats on their flights.

“Now the hub is gone, but the number of the people using the security checkpoint has about doubled,” Kerlik said.

The pandemic slowed business down again, but in May of this year, Pittsburgh International finally eclipsed its pre-pandemic figures.

Passenger numbers are continuing to rise, said Kerlik, and along with that increase, wait times on the security lines exploded.

Morning rush

Wait times are not equal throughout the day or week at Pittsburgh International.

Mondays in the summer tend to be extremely busy as business travelers merge with families going on vacation, said Kerlik.

Thursdays and Fridays are also busy as passengers look to take advantage of long weekends.

After the morning, the lines drop off significantly.

Kerlik said there are short wait times in the middle of the day. Things start bogging down again in the afternoon, with waits usually around 30 minutes.

For passengers worried about wait times, Kerlik suggested signing up for TSA PreCheck.

He said even in the busiest times, the expedited screening program tends to be 30 minutes or less.

When the new landside terminal is complete sometime in 2025, the security gate will be expanded and modernized, said Kerlik.

The new gate will have room for 13 screening machines.

The current gate has room for six screening machines, and a few extra at the alternative security gate.

“Not only will there be more, we are getting them all in one spot with a lot more space to operate,” Kerlik said.

He said consolidating the process will speed things along, and the gates will be built to handle the increased number of passengers the airport is expecting.

Allegheny County Airport Authority CEO Christina Cassotis said Monday at a press conference that flights and passengers have been growing since 2019, and a more crowded airport is the new normal.

She is confident the new terminal will address the swelling crowds.

Opening delayed

The modernization project is nearly 70% complete. The 5,000-space parking garage is built, and the 811,000-square-foot terminal is almost ready for interior work. All of the terminal’s large glass windows have been set.

But it’s unclear exactly when the new terminal will open.

Officials had initially set an opening date for spring 2025, but that original timetable won’t be met, and officials haven’t settled on a new date, said Kerlik.

Cassotis pledged the airport will be completed by the end of next year.

“I promise,” she said, “it is going to happen.”

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