So far, so good for new Pittsburgh airport terminal, but Thanksgiving test awaits

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 a 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.”

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 had left or landed at the airport as of 3 p.m. Tuesday.

Airport officials say they chose to open on a Tuesday because it’s typically a lighter travel day, expecting only about 20,000 passengers. The day prior — the old terminal’s last hurrah — brought 30,000 travelers.

“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,” Cassotis said.

But perhaps the true assessment starts later this week, when traffic ticks up as Thanksgiving nears. The Sunday after Thanksgiving is expected to be one of the busiest travel days of the year.

“Later this week into next will really be the element of test here,” Ian Cava, a TSA spokesman, said while standing next to the new checkpoint Tuesday.

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

Security

Security lines moved quickly Tuesday, save for the brief early stumble.

“This morning, the lines were a little long — I mean 20 minutes — but that’s not bad,” Cassotis said.

Besides that, wait times have stayed under five minutes, according to Cava.

Several improvements have sped lines along. 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.

“When you have all of the TSA equipment in one line … you have visibility into how close you are, and people were not anxious,” Cassotis said.

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.

Parking

Mary Jo Fekete said that when going to the old terminal, she would have left her house 30 minutes earlier than she did Tuesday morning, for one reason: the parking.

“I would’ve left at 7:30 (a.m.), worried about finding a parking space,” said Fekete, 54, of Shaler. “Now, we don’t have to worry about that anymore. In long-term parking, I could’ve driven for a half an hour before finding a parking space” in the era before the new terminal opened.

The new 3,200-spot parking garage has green lights indicating available spaces. There is also a new lot containing upward of 2,800 spaces near the new terminal.

Parts of the existing economy, extended and long-term lots have been combined to make a sprawling shuttle lot, a less-­expensive option that requires a roughly 10-minute ride to the terminal.

The rollover between terminals presented some issues with rental cars, Cassotis said, with a handful of people returning cars to their old location rather than their first-floor home in the new garage.

With all parking now either a short walk from the landside terminal or linked by shuttle, the tram is no more. Whether that’s an upgrade depends on whom you ask. A few travelers said they’ll miss it, but business traveler Bob Mulvin of Pittsburgh’s North Shore isn’t among them.

“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.”

New look

When Fekete stepped into the new terminal Tuesday, the first thing that caught her eye was the twinkle of lights strung across the soaring vaulted ceilings.

“It’s phenomenal,” she said. “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.”

Gina Konopack of Forest Hills and Annie DeArmit of McCandless gave high marks to the Pittsburgh-related design elements, 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.”

The pair of New York-bound travelers know a thing or two about design: They helped mock up the new terminal coffee shop, Café Conmigo.

Across the airport, there are 20 new or refurbished vendors, including 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.

Konopack recalled the old terminal as a darker space. The new one, she said, is “light, open and much more inviting.”