Pittsburgh International Airport was formerly named as Greater Pittsburgh International Airport. Now, it is an international, civil-military airport located in Moon Township, Pennsylvania. The PIT is the primary airport serving Pittsburgh, with a distance of 20 miles (30 km) west side of downtown Pittsburgh. The airport codes are IATA: PIT, FAA LID: PIT, ICAO: KPIT.
The airport is operated via Allegheny County Airport Authority and owned by Allegheny County.
The PIT international airport was founded in 1952. It was served by five airlines, and soon for over two decades, it became a small hub for Trans World Airlines. PIT Airport is the focus city for Allegiant Air Lines.
Capacity
Nowadays, Pittsburgh International Airport (PIT) is the busiest airport in the whole western Pennsylvania and the second-busiest airport throughout the state, after Philadelphia International Airport. According to statistics in 2018, PIT served around 9,658,897 passengers, which was a 7.5% rise from the previous year. The current annual passenger traffic shows about 8,967,057 passengers in 2019 updated in November.
Briefly on the History of Pittsburgh International Airport
The first five airlines of the previous Greater Pittsburgh Airport were: Capital Airlines, Northwest, TWA, All American, and Eastern Airlines. The Airline Guide of April 1957 shows 58-weekend departures on Capital, 54 TWA, 18 Allegheny, 7 Eastern, 8 United, 4 Northwest, 2 Lake Central, and 3 American. Eastern Airlines had non-stops to Miami, but westward non-stops did not reach beyond St Louis.The current airport was designed by the local architect Joseph W. Hoover, who used simple, steel, exposed concrete, and glass materials. For instance, the 1stfloor extended farther than the 2nd; The 2ndfloor extended more considerably than the 3rd, etc.
The economic impact of the PIT airport
In the late 1990s, the passenger traffic reached its peak at 20 million passengers, but U.S. Airways was facing bankruptcy in that period and abandoned the PIT airport as a hub in 2004s.
The Pittsburgh airport underwent a massive $1 billion expansion and renovation of the facilities, which was completed in 1992. The newly established airport was one of the most innovative, even outside of the United States. In that sense, the New York Times dubbed the "airport of the future" that helped the airport to pioneer modern design with X-shape to reduce the distance between boarding gates, underground tram, and shopping options, all of which were cutting-edge.
Recent Improvements and Future Plans
In 2017, a local official announced new plans for a $1.1 billion renovation, which is projected to open in 2023. This rebuilding will include a new terminal for check-in, baggage claim, and security adjacent to the boarding gates.