A flight operations control center in Moon Township is closing, causing some 650 employees to relocate to Texas, retire or look for a job elsewhere.
The Moon Township center was built less than seven years ago, specifically for US Airways, which merged with American Airlines in December 2013.
The last flight out of the Pittsburgh-area center is scheduled to take place on Aug. 23, which is also the day when the new operation center in Fort Worth will be fully functional. Pittsburgh workers who choose to move must do so between Aug. 20 and 24.
“We wanted everyone to relocate; [we] needed the full team to run the combined airline," American Airlines spokesman Matt Miller said. "Some individuals elected not to relocate and elected to stay in the Pittsburgh area with their families, but more than half, some 350, will be relocating to Fort Worth.”
The remaining employees from Moon will either retire or be given severance packages, equaling up to a year’s salary.
According to Miller, one of the items on the integration list for the merger was combining the operation centers for the two airlines.
“That facility will dispatch our combined airline’s more than 1 million mainline flights annually," Miller said. "American is the largest airline in the world and the operation center will run that airline.”
Miller said the building is nearing completion and will open mid-August adjacent to the existing American Airlines operation center.
“We look forward to opening the new building," he said. "It’s truly one of a kind, state-of-the-art, and world-class facility that will ensure that we can run the world’s largest airline and look forward to welcoming the team that will be relocating from Pittsburgh here in the next few weeks.”
