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Pittsburgh International Airport

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"PIT" redirects here. For other uses, see PIT (disambiguation).

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Pittsburgh International Airport (IATA: PIT, ICAO: KPIT, FAA LID: PIT) is an airport located in the Pittsburgh suburb of Findlay Township at the intersection of PA Route 60 (future I-376) and PA Route 576 (future I-576), with portions of the airport located in Moon Township. It has been a focus city for US Airways, and until 2004 was the airline's largest hub. The airport now retains the title of being US Airways's largest secondary hub. Pittsburgh is a hub for Air Midwest, Colgan Air and Republic Airlines as well.


Background

Pittsburgh International Airport (PIT) is a world-class facility that accommodates more than 11 million travelers in nearly 270,000 aircraft operations per year. With about 290 non-stop flights per day to 80 destinations, Pittsburgh International Airport is served by 19 air carriers as well as being a US Airways secondary hub. PIT has been frequently recognized for its quality in meeting traveler’s needs. The OAG Worldwide listed the facility to its short list of the world’s best airports for four consecutive years. The market research leader, JD Power and Associates named PIT among the top five airports in its two most recent customer satisfaction surveys. Conde Nast Traveler’s Magazine named PIT among the best in the United States and in the world in its People’s Choice Award.

Opened October 1, 1992, Pittsburgh International's Midfield Terminal brought a new vision to the region for domestic and international air travel. Designed to be the nation's best gateway to international commerce, PIT is within a 90-minute flight of 70 percent of North America's population. Capacity is one of PIT's most valuable assets.

The Terminal is a series of three buildings linked by a variety of people moving transportation means. With the airplanes at one end and the parking lot at the other, travelers need only take a few steps to cross more than half a mile from the landside to airside terminal. A model to other airports around the world, the design of the terminal was planned to simplify aircraft movement on the airfield and ease pedestrian traffic to the gates.

Since opening, PIT's Midfield Terminal has been recognized on numerous occasions for its efficient and creative ways to assist travelers. PIT has become a major economic generator for southwestern Pennsylvania. And it continues to grow. In the last year, airlines have launched new service from PIT, new routes have been added, and development surrounding the airfield is growing.

Destinations with direct service from Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh International Airport occupies more than 12,900 acres (45 km²), making it the fourth largest airport in the nation[1]. It is so large that both Chicago's O'Hare and Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson could comfortably fit within the airport's land area, with room to spare.

Quick facts

  • Opened in October 1992
  • Cost: $1billion
  • Size: 2.1 million square feet
  • 69 domestic gates
  • 6 international gates
  • 25 commuter gates
  • More than 90 shops and restaurants

Passenger complex

The Pittsburgh International Airport complex has three main terminal buildings housing five terminals connected by an underground people mover system.

Landside Terminal

  • Shops including Au Bon Pain, Travelmart, Sue Venir, City of Bridges Cafe, & a baggage claim Travelmart
  • Ticketing
  • 11 Baggage Claim areas (6 for US Airways alone)
  • Security Checkpoints
  • Parking
  • Taxi, Limo and rapid transit
  • Airport Police Headquarters
  • Travelers Aid
  • Hyatt Regency Hotel (attached to enclosed moving walkway)

Airside Terminal

  • Consists of 4 concourses A, B, C, & D
  • Departure Gates (69 domestic, 6 international)
  • AIRMALL(over 100 shops including GAP, Swarovski, Brighton Collectibles, Brooks Brothers, Body Shop, Godiva, Victoria's Secret, Sam Adams Brewery, Lids, Ben & Jerry's, PGA Tour Shop, GNC, Brookstone, Charley's Steakhouse and Eckerd's)
  • Chapel
  • US Airways Club
  • Free Wi-Fi
  • U.S. Customs Office
  • Carnegie Science Center Displays
  • Pittsburgh Aviation History Displays (Yesterday's Airport of Tomorrow display located on the transit level.)

Parking

Pittsburgh International offers onsite parking operated by the Grant Oliver Corporation and patrolled by the Allegheny County Police. There are regular parking shuttles to the Long Term and Extended lots that can be accessed from the Baggage Claim level of the Landside Terminal outside doors six and eight.

There are three options for parking: Short Term, Long Term, and Extended. The Short Term garage is attached to the Landside Terminal via the enclosed moving walkway. There are 2,100 spaces available. The Long Term section also quick access to the enclosed moving walkway. There are 3,100 spaces available here. The Extended section does not have access to the enclosed moving walkway but does have regular parking shuttles that can be accessed from the Baggage Claim level of the Landside Terminal outside doors six and eight. There are 8,000 spaces available in the Extended lot.

General Aviation

The new Business Aviation Center (FBO Avcenter), located at the site of the former airport terminal building, is a modern and full service facility for management of corporate air travel and general aviation. This area is accessible by using Business 60 near Moon Township.

Cargo

The airport's nine cargo carriers account for over 200 million lbs (90 million kg) of freight per year[2]. Three cargo buildings provide more than 183,000 sq ft (17,000 m²) of warehouse capacity and over 450,000 sq ft (42,000 m²) of apron space.

Airline lounges

Pittsburgh International houses only one airline club right now. US Airways has their US Airways Club on the mezzanine level of the airside terminal. It is accessible by escalators in the center core area. Before the massive downsizing, US Airways had three clubs. The other two clubs were located down the A and B concourses. British Airways also had a lounge area in the C concourse before they removed all of their flights from Pittsburgh. Their lounge room is still there intact but now closed off.

Innovations

Pittsburgh International has also been the first in the world in several key innovations. Free Wi-Fi throughout a passenger terminal was introduced to world air travelers first at Pittsburgh International, a service that has been copied by several airports and airline terminals throughout the world since.[3] PIT was one of the first to deploy dozens of portable defibrillators,[4] is slated to be the first "Joint Readiness Center",[5] and developed the first volunteer ambassador program.[6]

The airmall at the airport also provided several world's firsts in both featuring fair "street prices" and being the first major and diverse shopping center located within an airport terminal,[7] as well as the first airport to have two Xpress Spas in its retail area. Pittsburgh International Airport also has electronic parking.[8] Pittsburgh also was the first airport to offer fare alert emails.[citation needed]

Airport maintenance has also claimed world firsts for Pittsburgh International, developing one of the best winter weather operations in the nation with its unique front and rear deicing fleets and embedded runway sensors. The first use of the front discharge spray bars during winter weather was at Pittsburgh.[9]

Pittsburgh International was also the first airport in the Northeast and Midwest to offer service on both major discount carriers JetBlue and Southwest.

Runways

Pittsburgh's size provides enough land for four massive runways (the shortest is 8,100 feet (2469 m), the longest is just shy of 12,000 feet (3658 m) long) with enough acreage to double the number of runways to 8 if necessary (a 9,500 ft., a 8,500 ft. and two 8,200 ft. runways, see capacity plan under external links for more information). The terminal complex has also been built with the idea of easy additions of more than two dozen gates to easily accommodate any expansions in the number of runways for the airport. The Air National Guard and the two Air Force Reserve companies also have the option of several acres as well as a possible runway for any expansion that may be necessary for their role.


Air Force

The complex also serves as the headquarters for two Air Force units and the home base for the Pennsylvania Air National Guard. Pittsburgh International hosts an average of 20 military flight operations per day in its role as host to the region's defense center. Since its inception in the 1940s Pittsburgh International has served a second purpose as an important regional center for the U.S. Air Force. It currently hosts the Air Force Reserve Base that is headquarters to the 911th Airlift Wing on its northeastern side, and the 171st Air Refueling Wing, Pennsylvania Air National Guard Base on its southeastern side. In its military role it has long been the headquarters for the Pennsylvania Air National Guard, as well as its largest base of operations. Although the Air Reserve and Air National Guard maintain a great presence on that corner of the complex, the shuttering of some of the Air Force facilities in recent decades has led to the growth of a new tenant for that equipment at Pittsburgh. The FAA has taken over much of the excess infrastructure that the Air Guard and Reserve does not need, making Pittsburgh recently an important regional center for the agency. Pittsburgh's military heritage is also rekindled each summer as the complex hosts one of the largest air shows on the east coast, "Wings over Pittsburgh". Roughly 200,000 spectators attended the two-day show in 2005.


Fire School Training

The Allegheny County Airport Authority Fire Bureau has opened a state of the art ARFF Training Center. This FAA regional training facility is the next generation in Aircraft Rescue Fire Fighting.

The B-757 mock-up, designed by Symtron System, Inc, offers realistic and challenging training while maintaining a safe work environment. The simulated tail engine offers ARFF personnel critical high engine training scenarios.

The year round training facility offers specialized sessions in cold climate training evolutions. The system is propane fueled and computer controlled. It features a number of burn scenarios including:

  • 12,280 square foot fuel spill burn area
  • Wing engine fire
  • Wheel/brake fire
  • Gallery fire
  • Cockpit fire
  • Passenger Compartment fire
  • Lavatory/Trash Receptacle fire
  • Flashover simulation.

Adjacent to the first-training simulator is a four-story tower that houses the Computer Center overlooking the state-of-the-art training grounds. The Computer Control System ensures consistent repeatable evolutions for each trainee and allows training to be conducted with the utmost safety of participants in mind.

The facility is within the airport boundary and designed to be in an area that minimizes distractions. The classrooms, management center, vehicle bay, trainee/equipment support areas and visitors center are located directly adjacent to the training grounds. This layout maximizes training time for students by eliminating the need for unnecessary travel.

The use of propane and control of water run-off combine to reduce environmental impact while providing quality occupational education for fire fighters, emergency responders and industrial personnel in a safe and enjoyable manner.

Terminals, airlines, and destinations

Pittsburgh International Airport has 75 gates on 4 concourses:

Concourse A

Concourse A has 25 gates: A1-A25

  • Southwest Airlines - Gates A1, A3, & A5 (Baltimore/Washington, Chicago-Midway, Las Vegas, Orlando, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Tampa)
  • US Airways - Gates A2, A4, A6-A25
    • US Airways Express operated by Air Midwest (Dubois, Franklin, Hagerstown, Lancaster, Lewisburg, Massena, Ogdensburg, Watertown (NY))
    • US Airways Express operated by Air Wisconsin (Albany, Baltimore/Washington, Boston, Chicago-O'Hare, Erie, Hartford, Louisville, New York-LaGuardia, Newark, Norfolk, Philadelphia, Providence, Washington-Reagan)
    • US Airways Express operated by Chautauqua Airlines (Boston, Charlotte, Columbus, Indianapolis, New York-La Guardia, Philadelphia, Syracuse, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton)
    • US Airways Express operated by Colgan Air (Allentown, Bradford, Charleston (WV), Clarksburg [service resumes May 1], Columbus, Jamestown, Johnstown, Morgantown [service resumes May 1], Parkersburg [service resumes May 1], Washington-Dulles)
    • US Airways Express operated by Piedmont Airlines (Albany, Baltimore/Washington, Buffalo, Columbus, Erie, Harrisburg, Indianapolis, New York-La Guardia, Norfolk, Raleigh/Durham, Rochester (NY), Syracuse, Toronto-Pearson, Washington-Reagan, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton)
    • US Airways Express operated by PSA Airlines (Charlotte, New York-La Guardia, Washington-Reagan)
    • US Airways Express operated by Trans States Airlines (Hartford/Springfield, Louisville, Nashville, Newark, Raleigh/Durham, Richmond, St. Louis)
PIT Terminal A, August 2004

Concourse B

Concourse B has 25 gates: B26-B50

  • US Airways - Gates B26-B50 (Boston, Charlotte, Chicago-O'Hare, Denver, Fort Lauderdale, Fort Myers, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, Myrtle Beach [seasonal], New York-LaGuardia, Orlando, Philadelphia, Phoenix, San Diego [seasonal], San Francisco, San Juan, Seattle/Tacoma [seasonal], Tampa, Washington-Reagan, West Palm Beach)
    • US Airways Express operated by Republic Airlines (Boston, Charlotte, Chicago-O'Hare, Indianapolis, Myrtle Beach, Newark, Philadelphia, Providence, Savannah [seasonal], Washington-Reagan)

Concourse C

Concourse C has 11 gates: C51-C61

Concourse D

Concourse D has 14 gates: D76- D89

Concourse E

Concourse E had 22 gates: E1- E22

Concourse E was formerly used for US Airways Express commuter flights until their consolidation into Concourse A. The concourse is now used as an auxiliary security checkpoint. E Gates were intentionally placed as a part of the landside check-in terminal for quick access to small bodied commuter planes; however they are not part of the main airside terminal structure. All E gates are currently out of service to air traffic, they are also restricted to anyone except airport employees, and the airport and US Airways currently have no intention of reopening them.

Aircraft accidents

On September 8, 1994 a USAir Flight 427, a 737-300, crashed on approach from Chicago O'Hare International Airport. All 132 people on board were killed.

Fictional portrayals

The Pittsburgh International Airport has hosted major Hollywood productions, including:

Notes

  1. ^ About.com: Pittsburgh International Airport
  2. ^ Pittsburgh International Airport: Fact Sheet
  3. ^ Wireless computer users rush to take advantage of free access, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (2004-02-26)
  4. ^ Pittsburgh International Airport launches AED program, National Center for Early Defibrillation (2001-06-11)
  5. ^ Joint readiness center, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (2005-08-27)
  6. ^ Airport ambassadors deploy to assist domestic travelers, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (2005-08-27)
  7. ^ New 'cities' springing up around many U.S. airports "USA Today" (2003-09-25)
  8. ^ Pittsburgh International Airport: Press Releases (2004-10-11)
  9. ^ [http://www.grounds-mag.com/snow_ice/2001_august_takeoff/
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