As Pittsburgh International Airport continues its airside renovations, the last visible remnant of two of the old landside terminal’s dinosaurs — the train system and the T. rex standing next to it — will soon disappear.

The Allegheny County Airport Authority approved funds to continue the renovations on Friday, which include constructing a new floor over the escalators leading from the trains into the airside terminal.

That will create a “seamless connection” with the new landside terminal’s arrivals level, according to airport spokesman Bob Kerlik.

But it also means that the airport’s model T. rex on loan from the Carnegie Museum of Natural History will vanish behind a construction fence when work begins early next year.

Kerlik declined to say what’s next for the dinosaur, which has become an icon for travelers since its installation in 2002.

“We’ll have some news on that,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Carnegie Museum’s real T. rex remains on view in its Kamin Hall of Dinosaurs in Oakland.

The total cost for the airside terminal’s new flooring and related electrical and plumbing work is $4.5 million, $3.3 million of which is covered through a Federal Aviation Administration grant, Kerlik said.

Regent Square-based Caliber Contracting will handle construction.

Other airport authority board meeting notes:

Pittsburgh International’s passenger traffic dropped by 2.2% in September compared to September of 2025, from 831,200 to 812,600.

Airport Authority CEO Christina Cassotis noted that the airport’s total capacity dropped by 5.9% last month, a lingering effect of Spirit Airlines’ closure in May.

“The fact is that we had a lower decrease in passengers than we did in capacity, and that’s actually a really good thing for us,” she said.

The airport has served about 7.3 million passengers so far this year, down 1.5% from the same period last year.

Southwest Airlines continued its reign as Pittsburgh International’s largest carrier by passenger share in September with 26%. American Airlines followed with 22.5%, and Delta Air Lines was third with 18.5%.

Southwest is doing its part to reverse the airport’s declining capacity and plans to increase its seat count by 14% by the first half of next year.

The airline recently announced new routes to Savannah, Ga.; Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic; and Panama City, Fla., beginning next June.