Linked – Pittsburgh Airport Opens Terminal to Non-Travelers
I’m not real sure about this:
While historically only there so passengers have a place to grab a bite or maybe pick up a last-minute souvenir, airports like DFW are taking airside concessions to the extreme with the hope that originating and connecting passengers will make the airport itself a shopping destination.
If that’s the case, then DFW — and other airports employing the same strategy — will be salivating to participate in a new TSA pilot program launching at Pittsburgh Airport (PIT). Beginning September 5, PIT is opening its airside terminal to non-flyers from 9am to 5pm Monday through Friday, “with the possibility of additional hours and weekend days in coming months.”
Oddly enough, Pittsburgh is one of the airports, years ago, that I have actually gone to just to shop and have lunch during a rainy afternoon in the area. But that was a long time ago, when “security” meant just walking through a metal detector. Now? The extra work to get through a security line, let alone the registration process that seems to be in place to allow you the “pleasure” of going through the checkpoint seems like an awful lot to hit some of the shops inside of the airport. I just don’t see many people going through all of that to shop, eat, or meet friends and family at the gate.
Would you do it?
Pittsburgh Airport Becomes First to Open Terminal to Non-Travelers Post-9/11
