Pittsburgh International Airport has busiest month in nearly 2 decades

June was Pittsburgh International Airport’s busiest month in nearly 20 years, officials said.

Last month, more than 970,000 passengers made their way through the airport. It marked the most travelers since July 2005, when Pittsburgh slowly began losing its title as a U.S. Airways hub, according to the Allegheny County Airport Authority.

In July 2005, between 40% and 50% of the airport’s traffic came from connecting flights. U.S. Airways controlled the most of any airline with over 60% of the market share.

Pittsburgh International Airport CEO Christina Cassotis said at an Airport Authority board meeting that the local market is responding to the increased air travel options since the pandemic, according to a news release.

“What that means is that we are beating our forecasts for the year,” Cassotis said.

Over the last two decades, the mix of airlines flying in and out of the airport includes more low-cost carriers, ultra-low-cost carriers, along with legacy airlines such as American, United and Delta.

Pittsburgh International Airport now also has three foreign-flag carriers, including Air Canada, British Airways and lcelandair.

Bob Kerlik, an airport spokesman, said he believes the amount of travelers will continue to rise. He said overall travel numbers at the airport are up 14% since June 2023.

Like Pittsburgh, many other airports across the nation have been setting new travel records as well.

Pittsburgh International Airport operates today mainly as an origin-and-destination airport with more than 95% of its passengers beginning or ending their travels in Pittsburgh, not just passing through, according to the airport authority.

Recently, Delta announced it would be resuming the Pittsburgh to Salt Lake City route, which means Pittsburgh’s network will have another addition later this year.

Because of the large numbers of passengers, TSA checkpoints have struggled to keep up with the volume of people.

Earlier this month, TSA announced changes to security checkpoints during the early hours of the mornings to help combat the lengthy lines and wait times.

Pittsburgh International Airport will now have nonstop service to 62 destinations across 171 peak-day departures, according to the airport authority.

Pittsburgh’s new terminal, which is scheduled to open next year, is expected to help improve the passenger experience and cut down on traveler issues.