Pittsburgh airport's traveler satisfaction likely to rise with new terminal, survey says

Pittsburgh International Airport has ranked 13th for medium sized airport in this year’s North America Airport Satisfaction Study, just ahead of the unveiling of the new terminal project.

A travel intelligence expert says the new terminal could help to improve Pittsburgh’s rankings.

Mike Taylor, senior managing director of travel intelligence at J.D. Power, said construction heavily shapes the traveler experience and directly impacts an airport’s overall score.

“A new building doesn’t solve all your problems, but it helps,” Taylor said.

The study — in its 20th year — is based off 30,439 completed surveys from U.S. and Canadian residents who have traveled through at least one airport in the past 30 days. From July 2024 to July 2025, passengers evaluated either a departing or arriving airport from a round-trip experience by ranking the airports on a scale of 1-10 across seven categories.

The categories cover ease of travel, trust, terminal facilities, airport staff, departure and arrival experiences, as well as food, beverage, and retail.

According to the study, mega airports handle 33 million or more passengers annually, large airports serve 10 to 32.9 million, and medium airports accommodate 4.5 to 9.9 million.

Overall Customer Satisfaction Index Rankings are based on a 1,000 point scale.

In the medium category, Pittsburgh International Airport received 639 points while Indianapolis International Airport scored a high of 713 points and Edmonton International Airport scored a low of 602.

“We’re glad to have moved up this year, but we are aware that our existing facilities don’t match the needs of the Pittsburgh market today,” said Bob Kerlik, a Allegheny County Airport Authority spokesman. “That’s why we’re building Pittsburgh’s new airport.”

Over the past year, several other airports nationally have completed large scale construction projects.

“Airports like Pittsburgh are catching up to modern architecture,” Taylor said.

Pittsburgh’s new terminal is the first major overhaul of the airport since it opened in 1992 and replaced Greater Pittsburgh International Airport, which had been operating since 1952. The project began in 2019. Then in April, Pittsburgh International Airport approved a revised budget of $1.7 billion for the construction of the new terminal.

“If you’re not spending a billion dollars … you’re not going to make a dent,” Taylor said.

One of the biggest indicators of an airport’s overall satisfaction is its cleanliness score.

“Anything that is damaged or scratched is never going to be ‘clean,’” Taylor said about public perception.

The modernization project should help boost the airport’s score next year because travelers will be moving through updated facilities.

Travelers can expect the terminal to provide a quicker security experience, updated interior in the send-off area, a new local coffee shop Cafe Conmigo of Wexford and a new sign and wayfinding system.

In July, the modernization project was nearly 92% complete. Since then, the Allegheny County Airport Authority has announced a series of events and opportunities for the community to provide feedback.

“We have worked to minimize travel disruptions for passengers during construction,” Kerlik’s statement said.

No official opening date has been announced yet.

According to Taylor, Pittsburgh International Airport currently ranks “extraordinarily high” in the food, beverage and retail category, which was one of the biggest drivers in this year’s traveler satisfaction increase.

“Airport efforts to incorporate authentic local food and beverage brands into their terminal offerings have helped to fuel that increase. J.D. Power finds that when airports create a genuine sense of location, overall satisfaction scores improve by an average of 190 points,” the study said.

While Taylor said Pittsburgh as a city is difficult to navigate he believes the location of the airport is actually one of Pittsburgh International Airport’s strengths.

“Pittsburgh has good highways,” he said, which is important because a big issue is accessibility to the airport.