PITTSBURGH — For years, officials at Pittsburgh International Airport (PIT) have considered the possibility of closing the facility’s longest runway as a possible cost-saving measure.
The Allegheny County Airport Authority (ACAA), which manages PIT, has spent tens of millions of dollars to maintain its various runways over the years. The longest — runway 10 Right/28 Left — measures 11,500 feet long by 200 feet wide, which comes in at about 2.3 million square feet of concrete. It first opened in 1980.
But, amid a continued year-over-year climb in cargo-related operations and a passenger service rate that’s hovering closer to prepandemic levels month-over-month, ACAA announced it would be keeping operational its longest runway to better accommodate these needs and others. This also comes following a cost/benefit analysis that airport officials said looked at what would happen if the airport were to reduce its runway or taxiway assets.
“The results of this analysis indicate that while PIT currently has excess capacity, that capacity provides operational flexibility to meet the needs of current operations, including cargo … It found that the continued maintenance of the current runway configuration is justified over the impacts of removal,” ACAA CEO Christina Cassotis wrote in a June 1 letter to the FAA. The FAA has the final say over whether an airport can close one of its runways, itself a considerable expense and one that requires substantial safety considerations.
Click here to read more from the Pittsburgh Business Times.
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