Story by Curtis Walsh – Beaver County Radio. Published July 23, 2025 5:35 P.M.

(Pittsburgh, Pa) On a warm Wednesday afternoon, flights were arriving and departing Pittsburgh International Airport as usual. What wasn’t the usual was continued construction taking place on a new terminal to replace the aging 1992 facility. The new PIT terminal is getting close to completion and those in charge say they expect it to open by the end of the year.

 

Beaver County Radio was given a special tour of the construction site Wednesday afternoon and learned what to expect.

One big goal that those in charge of the project have is the service that the terminal provides. “When people come to airports they are stressed, we want this facility to serve people.”

Siri Betts Sonstegard, the Senior Vice President Experience Designer, says that the new facility will be accessible to everyone. Whether you are in a wheelchair or taking care of babies and children, the new experience will be much more friendly to all.

Currently, the airport TSA checkpoint operates 6 lanes and has TSA officers watching for anyone who backtracks. Some security protocols also require people to do things such as take off shoes and open laptop cases.

Sonstegard says the new checkpoint will be “one big checkpoint” that features 12 lanes and new cutting edge technology. Travelers will no longer have to perform tasks that include taking shoes off and others. A new door system will also prevent people from backtracking. There will also be a “reduce stress” zone following the TSA check with benches and tables to relax.

 

Another new addition that Sonstegard highlighted is the “thoughtful send off” area. The area is designed to feel like a living room where travelers can say goodbye to friends or families in a comfortable environment.

Those who are arriving to the airport after a flight will be similarly greeted with an area including tables and seating along with a locally based coffee stand.

Paul Hoback, a Beaver County resident who is the Chief Development Officer, highlighted numerous other aspects of the project. He noted that they wanted to have three things that define Pittsburgh to be the center focus of the experience. Those three things are nature, community, and technology.

Four outdoor terraces will help serve as the nature role, featuring soil, bushes, and trees to provide a relaxing area that two of which will be open to both travelers and visitors. Hodak says they hope to even have public events in the spaces.

He also mentioned that sustainability has been a focus, revealing that the terraces will take advantage of rainwater that will be captured through a system on the terminal roof.

In addition to the terraces, windows will also help with the nature concept. Large windows are installed throughout most of the upper half and ceilings of the facilty providing an array of natural light.

Among the other new technology being implanted is a new baggage system. The current 33 year old system consists of over 8 miles of track and is very loud. The new system which is currently undergoing testing is quicker and almost silent.

The heart of Pittsburgh will be on display throughout the terminal with a theme that locals will immediately spot. The color scheme throughout the facility is black and gold, and an audio system installed on the escalators will play “sounds of Pittsburgh” which will be audio from Pittsburgh sports.

Volunteers were recently requested to take part in a trial run of terminal operations. To the organizers suprise, over 18,000 people have signed up for the job. The test run will take place on September 20th and 2000 participants will be selected.

The project is at 92% completion and Paul Hoback says he expects the terminal to be open by the fourth quarter of 2025. He adds “it would be irresponsible” to name a specific date at this point.

As for the old facilities, he says there are ideas out there and multiple potential outcomes to be decided.

Speaking one on one with Hoback, he told Beaver County Radio “this is Beaver County’s airport, this is Allegheny County’s airport, this is Butler County’s Airport, Washington County’s airport”, “this is our hometown Airport and we want to make sure that those people are proud.”

When Beaver County Radio asked Hoback what he is most excited for when the new terminal opens, he quickly said “the faces”, alleging that those who enter the facility will be happy and proud of the new Pittsburgh International Airport.