The Allegheny County Airport Authority Board of Directors last week approved a visionary concept design for the Terminal Modernization Program at Pittsburgh International Airport (PIT).
The new facility will be built adjacent to the current Airside facility between the airport’s C and D concourses as part of its $1.1 billion modernization program.
Specifics of the design for the new terminal – scheduled to open in 2023 – which consolidates check-in, ticketing, security and baggage operations into one connected facility, will continue to be refined over the next phase of the project – Schematic Design – which is expected to run through summer 2019, said the airport.
While subject to change, the concept design currently features:
•Separate levels for departing and arriving passengers and a non-public level for building systems such as baggage belts
- Additional space for an expanded TSA checkpoint
•Shorter walking distances for arriving and departing domestic and international passengers
•Indoor and outdoor green plazas and gathering spaces - Additional space for concessions, artwork and other amenities
•Planning for technological improvements and more automated systems
•Emphasis on sustainability
PIT is going through a major revitalization. Considered ground-breaking in design (including its AIRMALL shopping facilities) when opened in 1992, the airport declined significantly after its main tenant US Airways downsized (it is now part of American Airlines).
No longer a hub airport the way it was under US Airways, it now serves a number of low-cost carriers including Spirit, Frontier, Allegiant, JetBlue and Southwest, as well as the main legacy airlines.
