Oct. 16—Pittsburgh International Airport is continuing its climb out of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Passenger traffic jumped 149.4% in September compared to the same month last year, as the airport rides a surge that started earlier this year and shows no signs of abating.

Traffic last month hit 76% of the level it was in September 2019 before the pandemic started, Allegheny County Airport Authority CEO Christina Cassotis told board members Friday.

Year to date, passenger volume is up 54.9% through September. It has returned to about 60% of the 2019 level for those same nine months, Ms. Cassotis said.

"We're making real progress," board chairman David Minnotte said.

The surge has translated into added capacity by the airlines. Available seats were up 71.6% in September and have reached 70% of the level they were at in September 2019.

American, Southwest, Delta and United continue to haul the majority of passengers from Pittsburgh. But ultra-low cost carriers Spirit, Allegiant, Breeze and Frontier now account for 13% of the airport's traffic.

"They're not only taking a larger percentage of the traffic, but they're actually bringing in new passengers. So as we continue to climb back from the effects of the pandemic, we expect that our market will continue to grow," Ms. Cassotis said.

Rebounding even better than Pittsburgh International is the Allegheny County Airport, which is celebrating its 90th anniversary this year.

In the third quarter, air traffic actually was up 5.6% compared to the same period in 2019 before the pandemic. It was 9.3% higher than it was in the 2020 third quarter.

Year to date through September, county airport air traffic increased 4.3% compared to the same period in 2019 and 18.5% compared to the same time frame in 2020.

"It's such a good news story," Ms. Cassotis said. "There's a lot more flying happening."

Contributing to the surge at the West Mifflin airport, she explained, is an increase in executive and business traffic — to the point that there are now shortages of aircraft, pilots and crews.

"So this tells us that people are getting back to business. We expect to see this bleed over into Pittsburgh with commercial at some point, but very good to see this activity returning and exceeding our last normal year of 2019," she said.

Also Friday, the board authorized nearly $37.1 million in increases or new contracts related to Pittsburgh International's $1.4 billion modernization.

The biggest contract — $29.8 million — went to Schindler Elevator Co. for the installation and maintenance of elevators and escalators needed in the project, which includes the construction of a new landside building for ticketing, baggage claim and security.

Authority officials broke ground on the modernization Thursday. It is scheduled to be completed in late 2024, with the new landside terminal opening in early 2025.

Mark Belko: [email protected] or 412-263-1262.

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