"Pittsburgh International Airport (PIT) was never really meant to serve Pittsburgh. When the modern airport opened in 1992, it was built as a hub for U.S. Airways, primarily serving as a connection point for passengers heading elsewhere. Tens of millions of passengers used PIT annually, though only a small number of them were actually flying into or out of Greater Pittsburgh. Most stayed in the terminal, leaving one gate only to enter another, which was fine-until it wasn't."
""In 2004, the hub went away. Passengers plummeted. All those connecting passengers left," says Christina Cassotis, who came on as CEO of the Allegheny County Airport Authority in 2015. After years of waiting for the hub, or any hub, to return, the airport authority decided it was time to accept that what PIT had become is an airport meant for people flying into or out of Pittsburgh. "We needed the facility to match the business plan," Cassotis says."
Pittsburgh International Airport transitioned from a U.S. Airways connection hub to an origin-and-destination airport after the hub closed in 2004 and connecting traffic collapsed. The airport authority shifted strategy to serve local travelers and align facility function with a new business plan. A new $12.7 billion landside terminal focuses on passengers who begin or end journeys in Pittsburgh, offering a grand, light-filled entry hall with a canopy-like, undulating roof and slits for daylight and sky views to guide travelers through security toward gates. Design teams include Gensler, HDR, and Luis Vidal + Architects.
#pittsburgh-international-airport #airport-terminal-design #origin-and-destination-travel #airport-redevelopment
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