New airport terminal 'built by Pittsburghers, for Pittsburghers'

The Pittsburgh region has a new front door.

A ceremony to unveil the new terminal at Pittsburgh International Airport was held Saturday. Local, state and federal officials joined airport leadership to the celebrate the $1.7 billion modernization project at the Moon facility.

“The building design was always aspirational,” said Christina Cassotis, CEO of the Allegheny County Airport Authority, which operates Pittsburgh International Airport and Allegheny County Airport. “It was meant and designed to work for everyone, for actual people who travel through and work in an airport.

“But the building itself, if you look at it now, I think it is actually inspirational. Being in this space feels good, and that’s a pretty big statement for an airport to make. I’m proud of what our team, and this community and this industry, has done together in Pittsburgh.”

The terminal will open by Thanksgiving, although a date has not been announced.

The facility replaces the current landside/airside model with a single, consolidated terminal.

Officials say the design is aimed at making travel more efficient and passenger-friendly.

‘By Pittsburghers, for Pittsburghers’

Former Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald noted some challenges airport leadership had to overcome to make the new terminal a reality.

“This project started over a decade ago. We were forced to confront the fact that we lost our hub and 70% of the revenue that that hub, at the time, was generating,” Fitzgerald said. “Recognizing these financial realities, we made a bold decision to lease the gas under the 8,800 acres of Pittsburgh International Airport, and that helped stabilize the finances of this operation.”

A post-Sept. 11 travel climate foiled the 1992 Pittsburgh airport’s original design as a hub for US Airways, as the airline company declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy twice and pulled out of the Pittsburgh airport as a hub in 2004.

The airport also took steps forward under the leadership of Cassotis, who joined the authority in 2015, Fitzgerald said.

“Her bold vision was to build an airport that was finally serving us, Pittsburgh,” Fitzgerald said.

The airport is the first to be built in the U.S. post-pandemic. It’s also the first major renovation at the Pittsburgh airport since 1992.

Travelers will notice more natural light, high ceilings and outdoor terraces. It also features sensory rooms, nursing stations and baby and adult changing tables, and additional services for travelers should their flights be delayed or canceled.

Those are game-changers for traveling parents and families, said U.S. Rep. Chris Deluzio, D-Fox Chapel — himself a father of four.

“Traveling with kids is a challenge that any parent knows,” he said. “I think these changes are a big deal to make the experience better for everyone, period, all travelers.”

The terminal is more accessible for people who are handicapped.

It also features local dining options.

The terminal has an upgraded baggage system that is so quiet, Cassotis said, thart operators will no longer need hearing protection.

“The reality is that all of us deserve an airport that is designed to meet our needs, while also showcasing the very region that creates opportunity for so many people,” said Allegheny County Executive Sara Innamorato. “This is our region’s front door, for people looking to expand their business or for people who are simply returning home.”

Numerous speakers said the new terminal is “built by Pittsburghers, for Pittsburghers.”

Over the past years, the terminal project has created 14,300 jobs and resulted in $2.5 billion in economic activity and more than a billion dollars in direct labor income, Innamorato said. More than 90% of labor and supplies were locally sourced.

“We have an airport that reflects, connects and serves the community, and it will continue to fill the role for generations to come,” Innamorato said.

Possibilities endless

U.S. Sen. Dave McCormick, R-Pittsburgh, said the new terminal is a state-of-the-art transportation hub, ready as innovative technologies and advancements continue to grow in the Pittsburgh region.

Pittsburgh’s air service currently has 61 destinations. Every major U.S. airline, with the exception of Hawaiian Airlines, operates at the airport, along with two European carriers.

“It’s going to create new opportunities, new jobs right here, because of what’s happening at the Pittsburgh airport,” McCormick said.

Numerous speakers also noted the project was a bipartisan, team effort.

Others at Saturday’s ceremony were U.S. Reps. Mike Kelly, R-Butler, and Summer Lee, D-Swissvale; Gov. Josh Shapiro and Lt. Gov. Austin Davis; state Sen. Devlin Robinson, R-Bridgeville; state Rep. Valerie Gaydos, R-Moon Township; Allegheny County Council President Pat Catena, D-Carnegie; and Moon Township and Findlay township officials.

“This project is an incredible example of when people work together, people that have the same vision with the same purpose, they’re looking at the future the same way,” Kelly said. “This asset for Western Pennsylvania — not just Pittsburgh, but for Western Pennsylvania — we can be the hub for almost everything in the United States.”

Shapiro estimates the project will boost the local economy and spur more growth, especially as the NFL Draft will take place in Pittsburgh in April.

“It is going to be very, very busy because we’re investing in this region, and we are betting on your success,” Shapiro said.

‘I wanted to see it’

An open house — with more than 10,000 visitors — was held at noon.

“We like to travel, and I wanted to see it,” said Lana Shaftic of Harrison, who toured the terminal with her husband, Jason Kerr. “We’ve heard about it, there’s been so many news articles, and we wanted to experience it before everyone else got to.”

The facility’s atrium is beautiful, Shaftic said, and getting to the terminal was simple and easy.

Shaftic said she flies every few months. She’s planning a flight to New York in November and hopes the new terminal is ready by then.

Also wishing the terminal is ready next month were Bill and Andrea Wisener of Monongahela City. They plan to travel to Florida next month.

The facility is well lit, said Bill Wisener, who added that the upgrade was overdue. He said things like parking and luggage appear to be more streamlined and less time-consuming than before.

“It’s big,” Andrea Wisener said. “It’s really roomy here. When you’re waiting for luggage, you have a place to sit.”

Friends Margie Yurt and Lorraine Yusko, both of Greensburg, were impressed with the new terminal. The TSA checkpoint seems very efficient, Yurt said, and Yusko liked that there is a separate checkpoint line for the handicapped and the military.

“I think that’s a nice gesture, and I think it shows respect,” Yusko said.

Yurt said she was curious to see the facility because her husband, George, is a retired pilot. The terminal lived up to expectations.

“We’ve been here many times, and through many renovations,” Yurt said. “We wanted to check it out and see how beautiful it was.”