On Labor Day, travel at Pittsburgh International Airport could be busier than ever

Pittsburgh International Airport experienced its busiest July in nearly 20 years – and the high number of travelers is likely to impact Labor Day weekend, according to the Transportation Security Administration.

In July of this year, over 962,000 travelers were processed and flown in and out of the airport. This is the highest number since 2005, according to the Allegheny County Airport Authority. Traffic volume in June also reached a new record high in almost 20 years, the authority said.

Between Thursday and September 4, the TSA expects to screen more than 17 million people at airports nationwide. The peak travel day is Friday. Pittsburgh expects high volumes of travel on Thursday, Friday and Monday, according to the TSA.

This summer was the busiest in the TSA’s nearly 23-year history, the agency said.

“People are traveling more this summer than ever before, and TSA, along with our airline and airport partners, are ready to end the busiest summer travel season on record this upcoming Labor Day weekend,” David Pekoske, a TSA administrator, said in a statement.

In Pittsburgh, traffic increased 11.2% in July 2023 compared to the same period last year, when it counted 865,000 passengers, the agency said. The pre-Covid figure was also 5.3% higher than the 914,000 travelers in July 2019.

According to the agency, more than 5.7 million passengers will travel through Pittsburgh International Airport in 2024, the highest number since 2007. Passenger volume increased by 9.4 percent.

According to the authority, cargo volumes at the airport also increased by 14 percent compared to the previous year and by 5.2 percent since the beginning of the year.

“(July) was another very busy month as passengers continue to use flights, which shows the strength of our market,” said Christina Cassotis, CEO of Pittsburgh International Airport, according to a press release at the authority’s board meeting in August.