Pittsburgh International Airport passenger traffic nears pre-pandemic levels

Travelers are embracing flying out of Pittsburgh at rates close to pre-pandemic levels.

The Allegheny Airport Authority, which runs Pittsburgh International Airport, recently announced that 2023 saw nearly 9.2 million passengers, which is 94% of the traffic that Pittsburgh’s airport saw in 2019.

Last year’s passenger traffic leaped more than 13% over 2022’s levels, said the authority.

Airport officials said the introduction of new routes following the pandemic drove the increase. The airport now has 61 destinations including recently announced routes, up from a low of 37 destinations in the late 2010s.

New service launched in 2023 includes direct routes to Los Angeles; New Orleans; Portland, Maine; and Cancun, Mexico. The airport also increased service to cities that included Miami, San Francisco and Denver.

The airport’s increase in passenger traffic puts it in line with international averages. The International Air Transport Association reported that 2023 saw 94.1% of international air traffic rebound from pre-pandemic levels.

Though Pittsburgh International’s growth is increasing at significant rates, it is still well below its historic peak of the 20 million passengers it saw annually in the 1990s when U.S. Airways ran a hub out of the airport.

After U.S. Airways closed the hub and the airline rapidly declined, the airport transitioned from a pass-through hub to a last-stop airport. Pittsburgh International Airport is currently undergoing a $1.5 billion project to right-size the airport and modernize its terminals.

Fourteen airlines served the airport in 2023. Southwest Airlines is now the top dog, carrying about one-quarter of the airport’s traffic. American is second with about 23%. The airport has seen passenger growth from smaller airlines like Breeze, Frontier, and Spirit, which accounted for over 20% of its 2023 traffic.

Airport officials believe traffic will continue to grow this year in Pittsburgh, citing the airport’s expansion into the European flight market.

British Airways is adding more frequent flights to its seasonal service between Pittsburgh and London this summer, and Icelandair is adding nonstop service in May.

Officials said airlines have scheduled 2.8 million seats to fill in the first quarter of 2024, which is about a 1% jump over the same period in 2019. In the second quarter of 2024, airlines are scheduling 3.4 million seats, a 10% jump compared to the same period in 2019.