Pittsburgh airport to close commuter concourse, lay off workers IMPERIAL, Pa. (AP) =97 A Pittsburgh International Airport commuter concourse= =20 will close and an unspecified number of workers will be laid off due to=20 decreases in departures and passengers, officials said. The airport's daily= =20 departures have dropped from 600 to about 450 since the Sept. 11 terrorist= =20 attacks, Allegheny County Airport Authority Executive Director Kent George= =20 said. George said the moves were not a knee-jerk response to US Airways'=20 insistence that the airport cut its per-passenger costs. The airline, which= =20 recently emerged from bankruptcy, has canceled its leases and has=20 threatened to leave the hub airport if it cannot negotiate lower rates.=20 Still, George said the airline's efforts to restructure into a regional=20 carrier are affecting the airport, where the US Airways controls about 80=20 percent of the gates. The 22-gate commuter terminal, or "E" concourse, will close by July 1.=20 Flights that used to arrive and depart there will move to other concourses,= =20 as will three vendors. US Airways is the only airline using the terminal.=20 George would not say how many people will lose their jobs, but said the=20 cuts include administrative and union jobs. Early retirement will be=20 offered to some employees, in hopes of reducing the number of layoffs.=20 George said the personnel moves could save up to $500,000 a year, while=20 closing the concourse will save another $500,000 to $700,000. *************************************************** The owner of Roger's Trinbago Site/TnTisland.com Roj (Roger James) escape email mailto:ejames@xxxxxxxxx Trinbago site: www.tntisland.com Carib Brass Ctn site www.tntisland.com/caribbeanbrassconnection/ Steel Expressions www.mts.net/~ejames/se/ Mas Site: www.tntisland.com/tntrecords/mas2003/ Site of the Week: http://www.caribbeanfloral.com TnT Webdirectory: http://search.co.tt *********************************************************