PIT’s International Arrivals Area Receives Major Upgrades

As Pittsburgh International Airport continues its ambitious Terminal Modernization Program, significant improvements are taking shape throughout its facilities, including those that handle international flights.

Among the most notable upgrades is the ongoing renovation of Concourse C, the airport’s international terminal, which is receiving the most extensive updates of any concourse in the Airside Terminal.

These renovations mark a major step in modernizing the international arrivals process at PIT. The work includes a complete overhaul of the Customs and Immigration area, reflecting a broader goal of streamlining passenger flow and improving operational efficiency for international travelers.

This transformation is part of PIT’s strategic shift from its historical role as a connecting hub to an origin-and-destination airport. With more travelers beginning or ending their journeys in Pittsburgh rather than connecting through it, the airport is prioritizing improvements that directly enhance the passenger experience.

Roy Reeves, PIT’s Director of Operations, said that the upgrades in Concourse C are aimed for better efficiency and an improved passenger experience. “This is about bringing the C Concourse above industry standards and giving that high satisfaction to our customers as they travel both in and out of PIT.”

The Concourse C renovations are a central component of the broader Airside Renovation Program, which aims to refresh and revitalize the entire Airside Terminal. Among the upgrades underway in the Airside Terminal are the expansion of PIT’s concessions, a redesigned center core and modernizing gate holdrooms.

WATCH: PIT’s Airside Terminal Also Is Becoming a Transformed Experience

Re-entering the country faster

PIT already provides a quicker international arrivals process versus other major U.S. airports. The airport is free of the congestion and longer immigration processing wait times common at East Coast gateways. PIT also offers programs like Global Entry and Mobile Passport that help travelers expedite their re-entry into the U.S.

The renovations to PIT’s international arrivals area will further accelerate the immigration process.

In July, following extensive renovations and tests, PIT launched its new international baggage handling system in the Customs and Immigration area inside Concourse C’s lower level. The system is dedicated exclusively for handling international checked luggage and greatly reduces the time it takes for arriving passengers to claim their bags while clearing customs.

The new baggage handling system makes PIT one of the fastest, most efficient airports nationwide for international baggage, said Reeves. “Usually, most airlines want their bags delivered within 20 minutes. With this new baggage claim, now they’re being delivered within 5-10 minutes of the aircraft arriving, which is unheard of in international operations.”

The international arrivals area is also being reconfigured to work with the new terminal layout and its design for origin-and-destination passenger flows.

The international arrivals process had been forced to utilize infrastructure designed for a connecting hub and pre-9/11 security requirements. Travelers who clear customs must navigate various tunnels to the trains for transportation back to the Landside Terminal. To adhere to security requirements, international operations require the train cars to be separated by domestic and international passengers until reaching the Landside Terminal.

The new terminal will replace the configuration entirely via a more efficient, dedicated corridor that will lead passengers from customs to the arrivals level, improving wayfinding and reducing the time it takes going from the plane to exiting the terminal.

Other upgrades to Concourse C’s international arrivals area include a new primary processing zone plus new spaces for U.S. Customs and Border Protection and airline liaison services. The renovation will also add a tunnel for tugs, adding another route for tug drivers to access the new terminal’s baggage handling system.

On the concourse’s departures level, PIT converted gates C1-C2, the concourse’s two remaining domestic gates, to international Federal Inspection Service (FIS) gates. FIS gates are mandatory at airports receiving international flights and serve as part of the secure international arrivals area for processing passengers.

Completed last spring, the conversion required extensive modifications, including the construction of a new glass corridor, bringing gates C1-C2 up to the same standards as the rest of the C gates.

“This really allows us maximum flexibility when it comes to international flights and bringing those customers down into the lower level where they can clear customs, pick up their bags and head home or catch their connecting flights,” said Reeves.

Gates C1-C2 also received the same holdroom upgrades as other gates throughout the Airside Terminal, including new lighting and seating, power charging stations and digital flight information displays. The gates also feature artwork from local artists as part of PIT’s Art in the Airport program.

Fit checks

Outside, Concourse C has undergone multiple upgrades to the apron level where planes park. These include the addition of fixed walkway structures connecting the jet bridges to the concourse, a new tug route for the renovated international baggage claim system and newly painted markings for each aircraft type.

To verify the upgrades, PIT has conducted gate fitment tests on Concourse C, a comprehensive operational trial airports preform before a new or significantly renovated gate is opened to passengers and flights. These tests simulate all the necessary elements and processes for a fully functional gate, such as testing the jet bridge, baggage loading equipment, fuel carts, catering and aircraft parking, often with an actual aircraft present, to ensure safety and operational readiness.

Safety is the top priority during fitment tests and involve close coordination between PIT’s Airport Operations and Operational Readiness and Transition (ORAT) teams, ground handlers, pilots and aircraft mechanics.

“Before we even bring that aircraft to the gate, we’re making sure that all the ramp markings are correct, all the stop bar markings that show all the different aircraft types are correct and will fit that aircraft safely,” said Reeves, adding that PIT’s team members and stakeholders also perform walks checking for Foreign Object Debris (FOD) on the ramp that could be harmful to aircraft.

But the checks go beyond making sure the aircraft safety fits in its parking spot.

“We’re speaking to the pilots or mechanics in the flight deck to say, ‘Hey, are you receiving power? How’s the air conditioning? What’s your temperature?’” Reeves said. “We’re making sure the water hoses not only reach the aircraft; they also give enough water pressure to ensure the aircraft can receive water into their tanks before they turn around and continue on for another long-haul flight.”

‘We’ got all the flexibility’

Concourse C’s renovations come as PIT looks to continue expanding its portfolio of nonstop international flights. To Europe, British Airways has grown its London-Heathrow service to daily in the summer fueled by the route’s continued growth. Icelandair, which began serving PIT in 2024, also flies seasonal service to Reykjavik between the spring and fall.

PIT’s service to the Caribbean will increase this winter as American Airlines will launch seasonal, nonstop flights to Punta Cana on Dec. 6. American will resume its seasonal service to Cancun on Nov. 8. Both Cancun and Punta Cana nonstops on American will operate on Saturdays through April 2026.

Southwest Airlines also flies scheduled nonstop service between Pittsburgh and Cancun. The service typically operates on weekends during the spring and summer months. Tour operators Apple Vacations and Vacation Express also offer nonstop charters to Cancun and Punta Cana operated by Allegiant Air.

In addition, PIT continues to handle more diversions each year thanks to its close proximity to major East Coast airports affected by weather. In 2025, PIT has surpassed its five-year average of 276 diverted flights and is on track to break its record of 463 diversions set in 2018.

READ MORE: East Coast Storms Divert Near Record Number of Flights to PIT

The renovated C gates have already handled several recent high-profile diversions. Earlier this month, a Qantas Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner flying from Auckland to New York-JFK – the world’s third-longest scheduled nonstop flight – diverted to PIT from a severe storm.

In July, the renovated C gates accommodated a Delta Air Lines Airbus A330-900neo that diverted from Detroit. That same month, Concourse C handled an American 787-9 from Tokyo-Haneda to New York-JFK; two United Boeing 777s from Frankfurt and Tokyo-Haneda bound for Washington-Dulles; and a British Airways 787-10 from Washington-Dulles. Each of the diverted aircraft parked on PIT’s Concourse C to refuel until weather cleared at their final destinations.

The new configuration allows Concourse C to handle up to six narrowbody aircraft or four widebody aircraft at once. A hardstand has also been added to park overnighting aircraft, freeing up space on PIT’s other gates.

The restriped C gates are marked for almost any widebody type from the Airbus A350 to the Boeing 747. Gate C5 is now striped for the Airbus A380 superjumbo, the world’s largest passenger jet, and a handful of gates are marked for the future Boeing 777X scheduled to enter service later this decade.

“We can take the largest aircraft that have been built,” Reeves said, adding that Concourse C can easily handle both PIT’s scheduled international flights and diversions simultaneously. “It doesn’t matter what drops in here, we’ve got all the flexibility to take on where comes our way.”