PIT performs ribbon-cutting ceremony to commemorate new, state-of-the-art terminal

Construction | On the Ground | Terminal Design // Oct 2025

Pittsburgh International Airport has performed a ribbon-cutting ceremony to commemorate its state-of-the-art new terminal ahead of its opening later this fall. The terminal blends innovation with regional identity.

Pittsburgh International Airport (PIT) – a Corporate Partner of the FTE Digital, Innovation & Startup Hub and host of the FTE World Innovation Summit, which took place on 13-15 May 2025 – has performed a ribbon-cutting ceremony to commemorate its highly anticipated, state-of-the-art new terminal. The event was attended by airport leadership, airline partners, elected officials, community organisations, labour and construction teams, corporate business partners, and other key stakeholders.

The ceremony symbolised the culmination of a collective effort to create a new PIT terminal that reflects Pittsburgh’s identity and embodies its future.

“The building design was always aspirational,” said Christina Cassotis, CEO, Pittsburgh International Airport. “It was meant and designed to work for everyone, for actual people who travel through and work in an airport. But the building itself, if you look at it now, I think is actually inspirational. Being in this space feels good, and that’s a pretty big statement for an airport today.”

The ceremony featured remarks from Cassotis and local, state and federally elected officials, including Allegheny County Executive Sara Innamorato; Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission Executive Director and former Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald; U.S. Sen. Dave McCormick; U.S. Representatives Chris Deluzio, Mike Kelly and Summer Lee; Gov. Josh Shapiro and Lt. Gov. Austin Davis; State Sen. Devlin Robinson; State Representative Valerie Gaydos; and Allegheny County Council President Pat Catena. It was part of an action-packed day at PIT’s new terminal that included the airport’s Community Open House.

The ribbon-cutting and Community Open House were the latest in a series of events in preparation for the new terminal opening to the public later this fall.

The project, which broke ground in 2021, was backed through unanimous support of PIT’s airline partners, which are covering the majority of the $1.7 billion cost. No local tax dollars were used to fund the project. The new terminal is the centrepiece of PIT’s transition from a hub connecting passengers from around the country to an origin-and-destination (O&D) airport tailored to better serve the Pittsburgh market. Rather than being a hub with one dominant carrier, PIT has leveraged its airline relationships to diversify its air service portfolio by adding a plethora of legacy, low-cost and ultra-low-cost carriers to align with its O&D strategy. In the past decade, the airport has increased its nonstop destination network from 36 destinations to 61 and expanded its airline count from seven carriers to 15.

Inside and out, the terminal includes features that are visually striking and functionally innovative. The terminal is designed to capture the essence of the Pittsburgh region. The rolling roofline mimics the region’s hills, and its structural tree columns and terrazzo flooring’s intricate leaf patterns, created by artist Clayton Merrell, reflect the region’s forests. Perhaps most striking is the terminal’s constellation lighting – featuring more than 4,000 lights – that emulates the night sky, creating a spectacular effect that is visible inside and outside of the building.

Unique among U.S. airports, the terminal includes four outdoor terraces – two pre-security and two post-security – giving travellers a chance to enjoy fresh air during their journey.

With its completion, the new PIT terminal will be the ‘front door’ to Pittsburgh, showcasing the region to worldwide audiences – from global Fortune 500 companies to tech startups – across all business sectors. The new terminal will be the first impression visitors will get of Pittsburgh, most notably when the region hosts the 2026 National Football League Draft in the spring.

“This isn’t a ‘let’s get going’ moment. This is a ‘let’s keep working together’ moment,” said Cassotis. “Because when we do work together, when we work on the things that we have in common, we’re seeing it here today. The things we agree upon, this community makes great things happen.”