Christina Cassotis, CEO of Pittsburgh International Airport, discussed the current state of airports and PIT’s future on the latest “Airlines Confidential” podcast hosted by former Spirit Airlines CEO Ben Baldanza.

Cassotis joined Baldanza and cohost Chris Chiames, a longtime airline and travel industry executive, for the podcast’s 100th episode last week.

The biggest part of PIT’s future is the Terminal Modernization Program, a $1.4 billion project to build a new terminal and “right-size” an airport designed 30 years ago to be a hub which now functions as an origin and destination facility.

“You have to invest in infrastructure at some point unless you want to be paying for costly maintenance,” Cassotis said during the 30-minute discussion.

The discussion also covered how PIT handled the pandemic, the potential return of business travel and even the unique nature of airport finance, with PIT’s goal of revenue diversification a particularly interesting topic.

“I’d love to be the first airport in the world where there’s no charge to land,” Cassotis said.

To hear more, you can download the podcast on any major platform or click here to listen on the Airlines Confidential website.