Nov 19, 2025 By Brad Hundt 3 min read

Even as it opened to the public for the first time Tuesday morning, the new terminal at Pittsburgh International Airport was as hushed as a library and as calm as a yoga studio.

The quiet of the new terminal was noticed by Marcia Marsico, a volunteer at the airport. She pointed out that “you don’t have all the tiles on the floor” as there were in the now-shuttered old terminal, “so you don’t hear the clickety-clack of the luggage.”

After more than a decade of planning, four years of construction and an investment of more than $1 billion, the new terminal at the airport started welcoming passengers, employees and airline crew when most people in the region were still slumbering or just waking up. A United Airlines overnight flight from San Francisco was its first arrival a little after 5 a.m. It was followed very shortly after by the departure of a Southwest Airlines flight to Denver.

Around lunchtime, Christina Cassotis, CEO of the Allegheny County Airport Authority, said the new terminal’s opening had gone well.

“So far it feels calm and we can handle everything we’ve been facing today,” Cassotis said. “People are walking in and smiling.”

Both Monday and Tuesday were very long days for airport personnel as the switchover from the old terminal to the new one proceeded. A Delta flight from Atlanta that landed about 12:30 a.m. Tuesday was the last arrival at the old terminal. By 3 a.m., check-ins had already started at the new terminal.

Las Vegas resident Alena Pimentel arrived in Pittsburgh for a visit with her mother at the old terminal, and was going to be departing from the new terminal. Her verdict? “It’s really nice,” she said. “It looks a lot bigger.”

Patricia Tomlin is another out-of-towner who arrived at the old terminal and was leaving from the new one. On her way home to Peoria, Ill., Tuesday morning, she was impressed by the new terminal.

“It looks beautiful,” she said.

The new terminal has three levels with roads leading up to each one, with departures being on the top level, arrivals at the middle level and the lower level reserved for taxis, hotel shuttle buses and other forms of ground transportation. Parking has also been reconfigured, with a garage, and lots for vehicles and shuttle buses.

The security screening capacity at the airport has also been doubled as a result of the new terminal – now, up to 12 screening lanes will be available.

Cassotis pointed out work on the new terminal is still incomplete, with construction proceeding on two new outdoor terraces on the arrivals level that officials say will provide a unique touch for the new terminal.

“There is more work to be done,” she said.

Still, Cassotis was pleased how the new terminal’s first day had gone.

“For the passengers, for the crew and for the people who work here, it’s been fine,” she explained.