Portland International Airport

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Portland International Airport
IATA: PDX - ICAO: KPDX
Summary
Airport type Public
Operator The Port of Portland
Serves Portland, Oregon
Elevation AMSL 30 ft (9 m)
Coordinates 45°35′20″N, 122°35′51″W
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
10R/28L 11,000 3,353 Asphalt
10L/28R 8,000 2,438 Asphalt
3/21 7,001 2,134 Asphalt
KPDX Airport Diagram
Enlarge
KPDX Airport Diagram
Aerial view of KPDX from the southwest
Enlarge
Aerial view of KPDX from the southwest
For the airport of Portland, Maine, see Portland International Jetport
For the drug PDX, see 10-propargyl-10-deazaaminopterin

Portland International Airport (IATA: PDX, ICAO: KPDX) is the largest airport in the U.S. state of Oregon, accounting for 90% of passenger travel and more than 90% of air cargo [1]. Located 4 mi (6 km) northeast of Portland, close to the Columbia River, and 20 minutes by car from Downtown, PDX is connected to the downtown business and arts districts by light rail (MAX) Red Line.

PDX has direct connections to major airport hubs throughout the United States, plus direct international flights to Canada, Mexico, Japan, and Germany. It is also a hub for flights to smaller cities in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, California and Nevada. General aviation services are provided at PDX by Flightcraft[2]. The Oregon Air National Guard has a base located on the south side of the property.

PDX is a major hub for Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air, mainly located on Concourse A, B, and C.

PDX was identified as the top airport for business travelers in the United States in the October 2006 issue of Condé Nast Traveler magazine. Research for the article identified the airport's easy access (including light rail service), shopping and free wireless Internet access as factors leading to the selection.[3]

Contents

[edit] Statistics

[edit] The terminal

PDX consists of one terminal building shaped roughly like an "H" that is divided into five concourses. Concourses A, B, and C are on the opposite side of the terminal from concourses D and E; they are connected beyond security checkpoints by a concourse connector opened in August 2005.

Inside PDX, there are postal services, free WiFi wireless internet access, a children's playroom, and several retail stores and restaurants and bars, including Made in Oregon, Nike, and Powell's Books.

Smoking is prohibited but there are designated smoking areas outside the airport's entrances.

[edit] Airlines and destinations

The following list of airlines and destinations is up-to-date as of September 2006. The airport's official website[5] can be checked for the latest information.

[edit] Concourse A

  • Alaska Airlines
    • Horizon Air (Billings, Boise, Burbank, Denver, Eugene, Fresno, Klamath Falls, Las Vegas (Begins Jan. 28, 2007), Medford, North Bend/Coos Bay, Oakland, Ontario, Palm Springs (Begins Jan. 28, 2007), Pasco, Pendleton, Redding, Redmond/Bend, Reno, Sacramento, Santa Barbara, San Diego (Begins Jan. 28, 2007), San Francisco, San José, Seattle/Tacoma, Spokane, Vancouver)
  • Big Sky Airlines (Missoula)

[edit] Concourse B

  • Alaska Airlines (Anchorage, Denver, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Los Cabos, Oakland, Orange County, Palm Springs, Phoenix, Puerto Vallarta, Sacramento, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose (CA))

[edit] Concourse C

[edit] Concourse D

[edit] Concourse E

[edit] Airport history (1925-present)

Today's Portland International Airport has had two previous incarnations. The first was the airport's original site on Swan Island.[6] The second was the 1940's-1950's configuration on the present site known as the "super airport"[7]. The third and present configuration was first known as "The International"[citation needed], but is now known as PDX in all common and most official usage.

[edit] Recent history

At one time, Delta Air Lines had extensive Asia operations in Portland. However, when the Asian stock market plunged, business slowed. This slowing only increased when Asian travel agents warned their clients not to enter the US through PDX due to complaints about treatment at the US Immigration facility in Portland. The combination of these factors caused Delta to eventually pull their last direct flight from PDX to Tokyo's Narita International Airport (NRT) in March 2001[8]. This change brought local media scrutiny, which, when combined with the resulting Congressional pressure, caused those in charge of the immigration facility to work to fix the problems.

Meanwhile, local travel businesses had begun recruiting other carriers. Lufthansa started direct flights to Frankfurt, Germany on March 31, 2003[9]. Northwest Airlines introduced non stop flights to Tokyo (Narita Airport) on June 10, 2004[10]. That flight continues direct to Singapore. Mexicana Airlines also introduced service to Guadalajara, Mexico, continuing on to Mexico City[11].

Portland also has five daily non-stop flights to Vancouver, Canada via Air Canada Jazz and Horizon Air.

[edit] Future plans

Although some plans have been studied to either replace or relieve PDX traffic, planners continue to prefer expansion.[citation needed] Salem, Oregon's McNary Field (SLE) and the Port of Portland's Hillsboro Airport (HIO) in Washington County have been floated as future relievers.

As part of the Port of Portland's PDX 2020 Master Plan, a third east-west runway is again under consideration.[12] Under the current plans, it would be located to the south of the current facilities, requiring the Oregon Air National Guard and cargo operations to relocate elsewhere on PDX property. Plans also include a satellite terminal linked to the main terminal by an automated people-mover system and/or possibly the MAX light rail system.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Loy, William G. "Atlas of Oregon" (2001) University of Oregon Press, Eugene, OR. pp. 111 ISBN 0-87114-102-7.
  2. ^ http://www.flightcraft.com/
  3. ^ PDX named best airport for business travel, a September 2006 article from the Portland Business Journal
  4. ^ PDX Prepares for Record Summer Travel. Port of Portland (May 25, 2006). Retrieved on 2006-10-21.
  5. ^ Port of Portland - Portland International Airport (official site)
  6. ^ Hien Bui and Michelle Kain (February 14, 2001). Airport History. Center for Columbia River History. Retrieved on 2006-10-21.
  7. ^ Hien Bui and Michelle Kain (February 14, 2001). Noise Yesterday, Noise Today, Noise Tomorrow?. Center for Columbia River History. Retrieved on 2006-10-21.
  8. ^ Delta cuts Portland service. Portland Business Journal (7 September 2000). Retrieved on 2006-10-21.
  9. ^ Lufthansa to add Portland service. Portland Business Journal (23 October 2002). Retrieved on 2006-10-21.
  10. ^ Press Release: Northwest To Fly Portland – Tokyo Nonstop. Northwest Airlines (7 January 2004). Retrieved on 2006-10-21.
  11. ^ Dan McMillan (14 March 2003). Mexicana adds service from PDX to Mexico. Portland Business Journal. Retrieved on 2006-10-21.
  12. ^ PDX Airport Master Plan. Port of Portland (September 2000). Retrieved on 2006-10-21.

[edit] External links

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