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Pittsburgh International Opens $1.7 Billion Terminal After Overnight Switchover

The redesign puts local passengers at the center, featuring a 12-lane TSA checkpoint, shorter baggage routes, direct access to the existing concourses.

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This WTAE archive report shows the final touches being put on Pittsburgh International Airport - from the parking and drop-off areas to the people movers, concourses, gates, shops and restaurants. Drivers could take the new Southern Expressway to PIT, the third-largest airport in the country when it opened in 1992. The midfield terminal complex was two times larger than downtown Pittsburgh.
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Overview

  • The new landside terminal began operations on Nov. 18, with TSA’s consolidated 12-lane checkpoint now fully screening all departing passengers using CAT-2 identity verification, CT scanners and automated screening lanes.
  • The old landside building closed and the underground tram was decommissioned during the switchover; United flight UA794 from San Francisco arrived at 5:12 a.m. and Southwest flight WN1841 to Denver departed at 5:30 a.m.
  • A modern checked-baggage system is in service, cutting conveyor travel by about three miles to speed delivery and reduce breakdowns.
  • PIT is right-sized for origin-and-destination traffic, reducing the gate count from 75 to 51 and introducing refreshed wayfinding with black-and-yellow pylons and FIDS sorted by departure time with airline tail icons.
  • The $1.7 billion program is financed by airline fees and airport revenues with about $130 million in federal funds, and officials are discussing potential redevelopment of the decommissioned landside building.