NEW SUSPENDED ARTWORK BREAKS MOLD

By Matt Neistein

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Creating a sense of place has been a guiding principle at Pittsburgh International Airport, but artist Rachel Mica Weiss already sees the region in the airport – and her vision of those interwoven identities provided the inspiration for a groundbreaking new art installation.

In December, Weiss worked with the airport’s skilled laborers to suspend her shimmering Recto Verso from the skylight in Concourse B, the fi rst of three unique artwork projects envisioned for the Airside Terminal by Rachel Saul Rearick, the airport’s Arts and Culture Manager.

“I was taken by the terminal’s wide bulkheads, and how they operate with the tight arched skylights that sit between them,” said Weiss, a sculptor who recently relocated to Pittsburgh from Brooklyn, N.Y. “I wanted to expand upon that relationship with my arches, echoing the existing structure and calling further attention to the signature curve that arguably defi nes Pittsburgh’s landscape.”

POLISH AVIATION GROUP TO PURCHASE CONDOR AIRLINES

By Natalie Fiorilli

Condor Airlines will officially continue flying.

Last week, Polish Aviation Group (PGL) announced its acquisition of the Germany-based carrier, which had faced an uncertain future after its parent company Thomas Cook Group collapsed in September 2019.

Owner of one of Europe’s oldest and fastest-growing carriers, LOT Polish Airlines, Polish Aviation Group is based in Warsaw. LOT currently serves more than 120 destinations in Europe, Asia and North America with a fleet of 80 aircraft.

With PGL’s acquisition of the airline, Condor will continue to fly under the same brand and leadership. The new partnership will expand Polish Aviation Group’s operations while also securing Condor’s future, according to Condor CEO Ralf Teckentrup.

“Together we will serve twice as many passengers, thus forming one of the largest aviation groups and the leading leisure airline group in Europe,” said Teckentrup, in the statement announcing PGL’s acquisition of Condor.

Combined, LOT and Condor are expected to serve nearly 20 million passengers per year. Rafa? Milczarski, board president of PGL, added that the acquisition fit perfectly into the aviation group’s strategy.

“We want to develop Condor’s iconic brand in Germany and also introduce it to other markets in Europe,” Milczarski said.

BIOTECH FIRM TO BUILD PRODUCTION FACILITY AT AIRPORT

By Matt Neistein

Pittsburgh International Airport welcomed another high-tech neighbor on Friday.

Krystal Biotech, a pharmaceutical company based on Pittsburgh’s South Side, held a ceremonial groundbreaking at a 10-acre site on the north end of airport property that will eventually house a 100,000-square-foot production facility, dubbed “Astra,” and create 75 new jobs once it opens.

Founded in 2016, Krystal has developed a proprietary gene therapy platform for patients suffering from rare debilitating skin disorders.

“This facility will be a global resource for production of gene therapies with the potential to bring new treatments to rare disease patients around the world,” said Chairman and CEO Krish Krishnan.