Pittsburgh International’s new, $1.7B terminal opening overnight

FINDLAY TOWNSHIP, Pa. — The countdown is on! In just a matter of hours, the old terminal at Pittsburgh International Airport will close for good as the airport transitions to its new, $1.7 billion terminal.

It’s a project that has been in the works for more than a decade.

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The last flight out of the old terminal takes off tonight at 10 p.m. and by 11 p.m., TSA will close the old security checkpoint for good.

The last bags will roll over that 90s tile when the 12:30 a.m. flight from Atlanta arrives - the last one to fly into the old terminal.

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“I’m really sad that I’m not going to hear the click, clack noise anymore,” Colleen McNamee tells Channel 11.

It’s the sound that so many of you have told us reminds you that you’re in Pittsburgh.

Around 1 a.m., the tram will take the last riders to the landside terminal before shutting down for good.

“Yeah, I might miss the tram,” Kala Wickham said affectionately.

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Overnight, the airport will open the roads leading to the new terminal just in time for travelers to check in and fly out of the new terminal for their early morning flights.

“I’m excited to see what the new terminal has,” McNamee added. “What kind of food places and stores and all the good stuff.”

And that dreaded walk between security and parking is no more. The new parking garage next to the terminal has 3 thousand spaces with smart technology. There will be a green light right above spaces that are open. There’s also an adjacent surface lot with another 2,800 spots.

“More parking, better transportation to and from the terminal,” Garrett Wickham said. “They already have salt sprinkled down for the ice so having better transportation is going to be nice too.”

The old parking lots will become economy parking. Shuttles will bus riders to the new terminal. Eight new bus shelters were added which are all heated.

“We’re flying to Ireland in December for Christmas, so that’s the real test right there,” Wickham added. “That’s what we’re really excited for.”

A lot of you have asked about Rexy, the big T-Rex that usually greets you when you land. He’s a cast of a T-Rex and is on loan from the Carnegie Museum of Natural History. We’ve reached out to the airport to ask if he will or will not make it to the new terminal. The airport says, for now, he’s staying put in the old terminal, but the Carnegie Museum of Natural History is coming up with a plan for a new display that may include Rexy, some similar or another exhibit.

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