Sneak peek: Inside Pittsburgh's brand-new $1.5 billion airport terminal

17.08.2024 - 14:52 / thepointsguy.com

It's out with the old and in with the 21st century at Pittsburgh International Airport (PIT).

That's the strategy behind the major terminal redevelopment program underway at Pittsburgh's once-bustling airport. The existing airport terminal, originally considered pretty revolutionary when it opened in 1992, is just a shadow of what it once was, at least, in terms of destinations served.

Pittsburgh International Airport (PIT)'s current structure was designed primarily for hub operations. At the time, USAir (later rebranded as US Airways) had built Pittsburgh into one of its major bases. From PIT, US Airways could fly passengers to cities as far as Frankfurt and as close as Latrobe, Pennsylvania.

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But US Airways dehubbed the airport in 2004, and that hub status is "never coming back, ever," Christina Cassotis, CEO of airport operator Allegheny County Airport Authority, told TPG in an interview. (Nowadays, PIT is served by 15 airlines with 62 nonstop destinations on more than 170 peak-day departures.)

With no future as a hub, PIT had a choice. It could keep its existing terminal structure with landside and airside operations split between two buildings connected by a nearly half-mile underground tunnel and people mover. Or, it could innovate and become what airport officials envision as one of the nicest and most passenger-friendly origin-and-destination airports across the country.

PIT chose the latter, and now we're just about a year away from the opening of the Terminal Modernization Program. (Cassotis told TPG to expect a formal opening in the third quarter of 2025.)

The $1.57 billion TMP project includes an all-new headhouse that will serve as a centralized departures and arrivals hall, Pennsylvania's largest single parking structure and much more.

There's lots for passengers to get excited about, so join TPG on an exclusive tour of the TMP and read on for what travelers can expect once the work wraps up next year.

Assuming you've been to PIT before, you'll likely do a double take when you arrive at the new departures area.

As you approach the new facility from the roadways, your eyes will likely be mesmerized by the glistening new terminal building.

Departing traffic will pull up to the third level of the structure, which has a large overhang ceiling to protect drop-offs from inclement weather. (This part of the TMP reminds me of the recently opened Kansas City International Airport (MCI) terminal.)

After getting dropped off at the terminal, there will be three entrance vestibules for departures. Once inside, airport designers are hoping passengers will be impressed by the soaring-high ceilings that are shaped