PHOTO BY HUCK BEARD

When the new terminal at Pittsburgh International Airport opens, travelers should experience lower wait times at baggage claim and less hassle in the TSA line.

Airport officials are also hoping to reduce another aspect of travel: The stress.

“We’re trying to create a sense of calm and relieve stress,” says Siri Betts-Sonstegard, senior vice president of experience and design for the Allegheny County Airport Authority.

“We’re trying to reduce stressors and stimuli as much as possible. We can’t be a completely quiet airport, but we’re trying to reduce, [for example,] sound coming out of speakers — we put that into our concession agreements … We’re really creating a sense of calm, because we know [that] travel can be difficult.”

The new terminal, which is projected to open in the fourth quarter of this year, has been designed with traveler happiness and mood in mind, says Betts-Sonstegard. That can involve practical choices, such as high-tech scanners in the TSA lines that eliminate the need to remove laptops from luggage (or shoes from feet). It also can involve design elements that exist purely to give travelers a break, such as four new outdoor terraces — ample, open-air areas with views of the surrounding landscape. (Two of the four will be ready and open on the new terminal’s opening day.)

Employees and help-desk staffers will be trained in assisting passengers when routine things go awry, such as a misplaced passport or lost phone — even if the passenger has already passed through a security checkpoint.

In a notable departure from the prior terminal, the new structure also prioritizes two simple elements: light and air. The former is let in through walls of windows surrounding check-in and security areas; the latter is emphasized through the soaring and decidedly uncramped roof overhead (pictured above).

Accessibility is also a guiding principle, as the new terminal is designed to make it easier for travelers to find their way to their gate — regardless of their needs.

“We’re thinking about accessibility super holistically,” Betts-Sonstegard says. “For example, some of the things we’re doing in our multi-story car park … each level will have an icon, a color, a name and a number. We’re trying to accommodate for all different learning styles so it makes it more memorable when people are returning.”

“[We’re] really thinking about the needs of all different types of passengers.”

She adds that accessibility improves the airport experience for everyone, not just those who require alternate accommodations.

“Everybody in the airport is either pushing or pulling something. If we make it accessible to somebody that needs to be in a wheelchair, we’re making it accessible to somebody who is pushing a baby in a stroller.”