Departing from Pittsburgh International Airport (PIT) now starts in a building that opened on November 18, 2025. Everything a departing traveler needs sits on the Departures level, the top level of the new terminal: airline check-in and ticketing, then one consolidated TSA checkpoint with 12 lanes, then a walk across the Skybridge to the gates. If your mental map of PIT still includes the old landside terminal and the people mover tram, this guide replaces it.
Getting to the Departures Level
The new terminal stacks three levels: Ground (commercial curbside, rental counters, garage access) at the bottom, Arrivals in the middle, and Departures on top. Drivers drop passengers at the Departures curb; riders coming from the Terminal Garage or Terminal Lot walk in within 3 to 5 minutes, and escalators the airport calls “Expresscalators” run from the Ground level up to Departures. Two airlines also offer curbside check-in on the Departures level: American at Door 2 and Southwest at Door 3.
The new PIT terminal building in November 2025. Photo: Antony-22, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Check-In and Bag Drop
Airline ticket counters line the Departures level, beyond which sits the security checkpoint. Check in online and travel with only a carry-on and you can walk straight to screening. Everyone else should use their airline’s counter or kiosks on this level. Fifteen scheduled airlines operate at PIT, from American, Delta, Southwest, and United to international carriers British Airways, Aer Lingus, Icelandair, and Air Canada; our PIT airlines guide lists them all with their usual concourses.
Airline check-in counters in an airport terminal (illustrative photo). Photo: LERK, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
One hard rule for early and late travelers: the checkpoint is closed from 10:30 p.m. to 2:30 a.m. daily, even though the airport itself is open 24/7. You cannot clear security during those hours, and you cannot check a bag until your airline’s counter opens.
Security: One Checkpoint, 12 Lanes
The new terminal replaced the old main and alternate checkpoints with a single consolidated checkpoint on the Departures level, just beyond ticketing. Its 12 lanes are signed for Standard screening, TSA PreCheck, CLEAR, Priority, Military and ADA, Crew, and Employee traffic. The airport’s homepage posts live wait times for the Standard, Priority, CLEAR, and PreCheck lanes, so check before you leave home. The new scanners use automated bin return, and TSA publicity for the new machines says passengers no longer need to remove electronics for screening. Our PIT TSA security guide covers waits and timing in depth, and PreCheck members should read our PIT TSA PreCheck guide.
After Security: The Skybridge Walk
There is no train anymore. After screening you pass through a recompose area, then cross the Skybridge, a lit bridge designed to evoke driving through the Fort Pitt Tunnel, into the renovated Airside Center Core. From the Core, walk to your concourse: A, B, C, or D. The airport says the redesign cut curb-to-gate time roughly in half compared with the old terminal, and connecting passengers no longer face a second screening. Alexander Calder’s famous “Pittsburgh” mobile now hangs in the new terminal’s grand atrium, visible from the Departures and Arrivals levels, so look up before you head through security.
When to Arrive
The airport’s guidance is to arrive 2 hours before a domestic flight and 3 hours before an international one, stretching to 2 to 3 hours for the busy 5 a.m. to 8 a.m. departure bank. Work backwards from boarding, not departure: build in time for parking or drop-off, bag check, the checkpoint, and the Skybridge walk. If you are parking, our PIT parking guide compares the garage, lot, and shuttle options; if someone is driving you, the Free Wait Lot guide explains the free first hour for your driver on the return.
Plan Your Trip with AirportGo
AirportGo is built for the whole airport journey, before, during, and after your flight. AirportGo does not offer an indoor map of Pittsburgh International yet, so at PIT the app is your trip prep companion: build a packing checklist, keep your trip tasks and flight details in one place, and time your arrival at the terminal. At airports where AirportGo maps already exist, the same app also guides you indoors from the door to your gate.
Download AirportGo free and travel ready:
