Pittsburgh International Airport’s travel warning due to long security check queues remains in place until the new terminal opens

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – Pittsburgh International Airport officials are now recommending that passengers with early morning flights arrive three hours before departure, leaving many people wondering when the new terminal will open.

Work on the new terminal is coming to an end Pittsburgh sets air traffic recordsand it should make a difference.

In a travel advisory posted on social media Monday afternoon, the airport advised passengers with flights between 5 a.m. and 8 a.m. to arrive 2.5 to 3 hours early to get through security.

This does not suit Drew Stiling, who missed his flight on Monday morning because the security check took more than two hours.

“I think it’s absurd,” he said. “People have lives, we have work to do and if we have to sacrifice so much time just to stand in line, then in my view that’s a failure of the airport.”

The airport says that is exactly the reason Pittsburgh needs this new terminalAirport spokesman Bob Kerlik said the current situation is pre-9/11.

“When the new terminal opens next year in 2025, we will have an expanded security checkpoint with 11 lanes, much more than today, and it will be a single consolidated checkpoint,” Kerlik said.

This means there are no longer any alternative checkpoints and your baggage can be processed more quickly.

“We’re eliminating 8 miles of baggage carousel that connects the two terminals,” Kerlik said. “Your curb-to-gate time will be cut in half, from arriving at the terminal to arriving at the gate. The trains will obviously be eliminated, so you won’t have to worry about that anymore, and we’ll see a lot of concessions online as well.”

The airport said this warning only applies until the new terminal opens next year.