PIT’s Terminal Transformation Earns Three More Industry Awards
Engineering excellence, construction safety and community outreach recognized as part of airport's modernization
By Blue Sky Staff
Published November 3, 2026
Read Time: 2 mins
Pittsburgh International Airport’s new, industry-leading terminal continues to be lauded globally and nationally with the latest recognition coming for engineering, its safety record and community engagement.
Engineering News-Record magazine named PIT’s new terminal project its 2026 Best Project in the Airport/Transit category for the Mid-Atlantic region and also presented it with the Excellence in Safety Award. The awards were presented Oct. 30 in Baltimore. As a regional Best Project winner, PIT advances for consideration in the magazine’s national Best of the Best Projects competition.
PIT also received the 2026 Excellence in Airport Marketing, Communications, and Customer Experience Award from Airports Council International–North America, winning in the Community Education and Outreach category. The national award recognized PIT’s efforts to prepare passengers, airline partners and the broader community for the opening of its new terminal.
Together, the awards recognize multiple aspects of the project: delivering an innovative new facility, maintaining safe airport operations throughout construction and making the community and aviation partners part of the journey.
Volunteers check in luggage at the new PIT terminal’s ticketing area during a public trial on Nov. 3, 2025. PIT hosted two public trails to test the new terminal prior to its opening on Nov. 18, 2025. (Photo by Beth Hollerich)
Engineering News-Record’s Best Project award recognized the scale, complexity and quality of the modernization effort, which delivered an 811,872-square-foot landside terminal designed around a more intuitive and efficient passenger journey.
The Excellence in Safety Award recognized the commitment to protecting construction workers, passengers and airport operations throughout the multiyear undertaking. With safety at the focus of the project, ACAA achieved safety rates beating industry averages.
On the community engagement front, PIT’s comprehensive outreach program made the terminal transformation a shared regional experience. The initiative combined in-person tours, videos, partner events, public trials, media outreach and a large-scale community open house.
Key to operational readiness were two public trials, which gave thousands of volunteers an opportunity to test the new passenger experience before opening day.
The awards come on the heels of key global recognition including industry publication Air Transport World naming Pittsburgh International Airport its 2027 Airport of the Year, the first U.S. airport to win twice.
Additionally, the new terminal was named to the prestigious Prix Versailles World’s Most Beautiful Airports List 2026, was the first airport to ever earn the Universal Design Certification from the University at Buffalo Center for Inclusive Design and Environmental Access and received Uber’s 2025 Airport Smartest Space award among others.
