TSA Marks 20 Years of Protecting Passengers at PIT

Agency created after 9/11 now screens millions of travelers annually

By Matt Neistein

Published August 29, 2022

Read Time: 2 mins

Safety and security are the top priority at Pittsburgh International Airport, and a myriad of agencies protect the facility and its occupants 24 hours a day: county police, U.S. Customs officers, FBI agents, ACTS private security and more.

But nothing signifies that commitment more than the security checkpoints operated by the U.S. Transportation Security Administration.

Twenty years ago, on Aug. 27, 2002, PIT began its partnership with the TSA. The federal agency was launched on Nov. 19, 2001, with the passage of the Aviation and Transportation Security Act, a direct response to the Sept. 11 terror attacks two months earlier.

“Our workforce felt a personal connection to 9/11 because United Flight 93 crashed in a field in Shanksville, Pa., which is only about 80 miles from Pittsburgh,” said Karen Keys-Turner, TSA’s federal security director for PIT.

“The federalization of Pittsburgh International Airport held special significance in thwarting possible future terrorist attacks and was extra meaningful to our workforce.”