New PIT Cargo4 facility features flexible space

Pittsburgh International Airport has begun construction on an 80,000-square-foot cargo terminal to be completed by yearend, bolstering its presence as a growing cargo hub . [caption id="attachment_57139688" align="alignright" width="491"] (Courtesy/Pittsburgh International Airport)[/caption] The terminal, dubbed Cargo4, will feature automation and “cutting-edge technology,” according to a release by the Allegheny County Airport Authority (ACAA) . The facility is a part of Pittsburgh Airport’s (PIT) $1.57 billion terminal expansion project, which began in 2023, Joe Rotterdam , director of air service development at PIT, told Air Cargo Next. The cargo terminal is “going to include close to 80,000 square feet of warehouse [space] and 17 truck [and] dock doors,” Rotterdam said. There will also be an “aircraft apron in the back where we could park two 747s or three 767s, with very flexible parking space because parking is always at a premium. It’s a building that was designed, really, for a lot of different functions. But the really unique thing with the building is we’re essentially building a flexible space, a shell, so to speak.” The warehouse will be able to accommodate cargo requiring temperature control and to shorten waiting times, Rotterdam said. [caption id="attachment_57139689" align="alignleft" width="395"] (Courtesy/Pittsburgh International Airport)[/caption] Pittsburgh , home to Carnegie Mellon University’s Robotics Institute, is a U.S. robotics capital, and trial tech innovations like autonomous ground handling are tested at PIT, Rotterdam said. This gives the airport and its cargo operations the first opportunity to integrate these “whole suites of technologies and functions,” he added. Growth as a cargo hub Located on the north side of the airport, Cargo4 will be clear of PIT’s passenger terminals and easily accessible to clients like FedEx and UPS , Rotterdam added. The airport’s cargo throughput is projected to increase this year with new routes from British Airways and Icelandair , according to the ACAA. Once a major hub for U.S. Airways , PIT saw a decline of passenger and cargo traffic after the carrier’s 2015 merger with American Airlines , Rotterdam said. However, when PIT in 2017 began widebody cargo ops with Qatar Airways , it saw a reemergence of cargo in the region, boosting operations, he said. “That helped put us on the map for a number of different forwarders [and] for a number of different shippers,” Rotterdam said. “And we built from there. The 2020 pandemic created an additional boost for PIT’s cargo operations, including an uptick in relief supplies from Asia as well as automotive goods, fast fashion products and technology, he added. With the airport’s proximity to Canada and the Midwest, goods could be easily and quickly shipped through the airport as well, Rotterdam said. [caption id="attachment_57139690" align="aligncenter" width="554"] (Courtesy/Pittsburgh International Airport)[/caption] From 2018 to 2022, PIT has seen its cargo throughput increase 14%, according to PIT Cargo , with some variation in the years in between: 87,442.3 tonnes in 2018; 89,509.6 tonnes in 2019; 87,344 tonnes in 2020; 113,125.7 tonnes in 2021; and 99,667.2 tonnes in 2022. PIT’s location between New York and Chicago additionally makes it attractive to airlines and freight forwarders conducting business in the region, Bryan Dietz , senior vice president of air service and commercial development at PIT, said in a release in December. “Our unique partnership mentality with forwarders, airlines, vendors and regulatory agencies allows PIT to offer a unique product to the cargo marketplace and act as an economic driver for Western Pennsylvania,” he said.

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