Pittsburgh International Airport is forecasted to increase airline capacity, a term referring to scheduled seats, 13 percent during the second quarter compared to the same period a year ago, according to new data from trade group Airlines for America.
The project ranks the airport fourth in growth among medium-to-large U.S. airports, behind Charlotte, Milwaukee, and Philadelphia.
“Airlines continue to recognize the strength and value of the Pittsburgh market,” Joe Rotterdam, Pittsburgh International Airport Air Service Development director, said. “As a result, we are seeing carriers respond to the region’s growing demand by adding more capacity into Pittsburgh.”
Airline capacity surpassed prepandemic levels in February. More than 860,000 seats were scheduled, representing a nearly 4 percent increase in capacity year-over-year. When compared to February 2019, capacity increased 2.4 percent.
Feb. 29 represented 3.7 percent of February’s capacity.
The airport’s leading airline is Southwest Airlines, carrying 26.3 percent of passengers flown in February, followed by American Airlines with 23.3 percent. Southwest also had the highest growth in scheduled seats year-over-year.
In addition, passenger traffic has surpassing prepandemic levels. In February, there were nearly 8.4 percent more travelers than February 2023, making it the strongest passenger recovery month since the pandemic.
Passenger totals are 101.6 percent of prepandemic levels.