Pittsburgh International Airport's new terminal is now "nearly 90% complete," according to Allegheny County Airport Authority CEO Christina Cassotis.
"We are into the final stretch ... we are on final approach," she said.
Ms. Cassotis has previously said that the terminal would open for passengers when it was around 92% complete.
Until it opens, airport officials are crossing items off its checklist.
The airport held its third and final bond sale to finance the terminal on Tuesday, which it expects to pay back over the next 30 years.
"The Allegheny County Airport Authority navigated a volatile market to execute a successful bond sale this week, selling approximately $410 million worth of bonds at favorable rates with high demand," Eric Sprys, the airport authority's executive vice president and chief financial officer, said in a statement.
On Friday, the Allegheny County Airport Authority approved more than $13 million in construction-related funds for the new terminal, which recently had its budget increased from $1.57 billion to $1.7 billion due to inflation and capital project costs. Airport spokesman Bob Kerlik said that the new funds were a part of the $1.7 billion budget and would not raise it higher.
Construction on the new terminal is primarily cosmetic now, officials said Friday at the authority's regular meeting. Workers are polishing the terrazzo flooring, installing digital screens along the Sky Bridge, painting the decorative "tree" columns, and installing the wavelike ceiling features on the arrivals level. There are still a few more involved projects, such as renovating the bathrooms and setting up the security checkpoint equipment, Ms. Cassotis said.
Most of the current projects will wrap up in May before workers move on to installing the elevators, escalators and ticket counters, and start testing the baggage handling system, she said.
"Every month there's a lot to get done, and we are excited to come into some sort of opening later this fall," she said.
Mr. Kerlik reaffirmed that the terminal remains on track to open early in the fourth quarter this year, but he is months away from announcing an opening date.
As the new terminal comes into focus, it's the beginning of the end for the existing landside terminal. Airlines will build out their infrastructure over the summer to allow for a seamless transition, Mr. Kerlik said. Once the new terminal opens, only a small number of airport authority employees will remain in the terminal until their offices are moved, he said.
The board approved a contract worth just under $185,000 for AECOM, Inc., an infrastructure consulting firm that will help to "wind down" the landside terminal's operations from an engineering standpoint, officials said. The airport will then determine whether or not the building can be reused, or if it is demolished, Mr. Kerlik said.
Passenger traffic at Pittsburgh International in March declined 1.2% year-over-year from 830,100 to 819,900. Ms. Cassotis attributed the drop to Easter being in March last year and April this year. She said she was "not terribly worried" about the 1.1% decline in passengers this year to date, some of which she attributed to "headwinds" in the economy.
Ms. Cassotis noted that airline capacity increased by 3.4% last month at the start of the spring break season. Pittsburgh International set an all-time record in March for passengers on flights to Florida, fueled by its expansion to 14 destinations today compared to five in 2014.
Copyright (C) 2025, Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Portions copyrighted by the respective providers.
This story was originally published April 25, 2025 at 11:15 PM