Portland International Airport

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Portland International Airport
IATA: PDX - ICAO: KPDX
Summary
Airport type Public
Operator Port of Portland
Serves Portland, Oregon
Elevation AMSL 30 ft (9 m)
Coordinates 45°35′19″N, 122°35′51″W
Website flypdx.com
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
KPDX Airport Diagram
Aerial view of KPDX from the southwest
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]. It is located on the south side of the Columbia River, 6 miles by air or 12 miles by ground northeast of downtown Portland and is connected to the regional light rail system with the MAX Red Line.

PDX has direct connections to major airport hubs throughout the United States, plus direct international flights to Canada, Mexico, Japan, Germany, and Singapore. 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 south side of the terminal and concourses D and E are on the north; the two sides are connected beyond security checkpoints by an elevated walkway opened in August 2005 [1].

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 January, 2007. 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 [seasonal], Medford, North Bend/Coos Bay, Oakland, Ontario, Palm Springs [seasonal], Pasco, Pendleton, Redding, Redmond/Bend, Reno/Tahoe, Sacramento, Santa Barbara, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose (CA), Seattle/Tacoma, Spokane, Vancouver)
  • Big Sky Airlines (Missoula)

[edit] Concourse B

  • Alaska Airlines (Anchorage, Boston [begins September 9, 2007], Denver, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Los Cabos [seasonal], Oakland, Orange County, Orlando [begins September 9, 2007], Palm Springs, Phoenix, Puerto Vallarta [seasonal], Sacramento, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose (CA))

[edit] Concourse C

[edit] Concourse D (International)

Concourse D handles all international arrivals and the following departures:

[edit] Concourse E

[edit] City airport history

Portland's main airport has been in two other incarnations. The first was on Swan Island, now used by the Port of Portland for industrial parks.[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] Swan Island Airport

In 1925, aviation proponents proposed an airport for Portland on Swan Island, northwest of downtown Portland on the Willamette River. The Port of Portland purchased 256 acres (1.04 km²) and construction began in 1926. Although the airport wasn't completed until 1930, Charles Lindbergh flew in and dedicated the new airfield in 1927.

By 1935, it was becoming apparent to the Port of Portland that the Swan Island Airport was becoming obsolete. The small airfield couldn't easily be expanded, nor could it accommodate the larger aircraft and passenger loads expected to become common to Portland. Plans immediately were conceived to relocate the outdated airfield to a larger site.

Swan Island Airport was officially named Portland Airport until the opening of the new airport.

[edit] Portland-Columbia "Super Airport"

The present PDX site was purchased by the Portland City Council in 1936. At the time, it was 700 acres (2.8 km²) bordered by the Columbia River in the north and the Columbia Slough in the south. The city council issued US$300,000 and asked the Port of Portland to sponsor a US$1.3 million Works Progress Administration (WPA) grant to develop the site into a "super airport". The project provided badly needed Great Depression-era jobs and was completed in 1940. The airport was designated Portland-Columbia Airport to distinguish it from then-operating Swan Island Airport.

The "super airport" featured a terminal on the north side of the property, off Marine Drive, and five runways (NE-SW, NW-SW, and an east-west runway forming an asterisk). This configuration was adequate until a new terminal and a longer, 8,800 ft. east-west runway were constructed in 1952.

In 1948, the entire airport grounds were flooded during the Vanport Flood due to its proximity to the Columbia River and very low elevation, forcing scheduled airline services to reroute to nearby Troutdale Airport. The grounds remained covered entirely in water for several months.

[edit] International status and expansion

A new terminal opened in 1958, which for the most part serves as the present facility. The new terminal is located to the east of the original runways, and north of the then-new 8,800 ft runway. Construction of a second east-west runway to the north made this a midfield terminal. At this point, all but the NE-SW (3/21) runway in the original "X" were abandoned and turned into taxiways. 3/21 was extended for use as a cross-wind runway. "International" was added to the airport's official designation after the 1950's-era improvements.

Plans made in 1968 to add a third runway by means of filling in parts of the Columbia River were met with vocal public opposition and scrapped. In 1974, the south runway was extended to 11,000 ft. to service the latest jumbo jets.

By the 1980's, the terminal building began an extensive renovation in order to update PDX to meet future needs. Concourse E was first to be reconstructed, and featured PDX's first moving sidewalks. The Oregon Marketplace, a small shopping mall, was added in the former waiting areas behind the ticket counters.

The early 1990's saw a food court and extension added to Concourse C, and the opening of the new Concourse D. This marked the first concessions inside secured areas, allowing passengers to purchase items without having to be re-screened.

An expanded parking garage, new control tower, and canopy over the curbside were finished in the late 1990's. Although hailed by architectural critics, the canopy blocked views of Mount Hood from the curbside. Also, the garage addition collapsed while under construction, killing a worker.

The present, rigid H-shape of the PDX terminal was completed on September 10, 2001 when the new A, B and C concourses, as well as the light rail line, were finished. Probably the most stunning portion of PDX's interior, the new concourses reflect a Northwest theme, focusing heavily on the nearby Columbia river. A huge celebration was to be held the following weekend, however the unfortunate events of 9/11 interceded. The new concourses, designed to be public spaces, were closed to non-passengers.

In the fall of 2005, the elevated walkway connecting the north and south concourses inside the secured area was opened.

[edit] International service

Until the Asian stock market plunged, Delta Air Lines used Portland as a gateway to Asia with extensive service. The resulting drop in travel was then increased due to complaints about treatment at the immigration facility in Portland, leading it to be called "DePortland"[8][9]. 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[10]. 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[11]. Northwest Airlines introduced non stop flights to Tokyo (Narita Airport) on June 10, 2004[12]. That flight continues direct to Singapore. Mexicana Airlines also introduced service to Guadalajara, Mexico, continuing on to Mexico City[13].

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. Although the last scheduled airline flight left in 1993, Salem has actively campaigned to bring the airlines back to McNary Field. Beginning June 7th, 2007, Delta Connection will be returning commercial air service to Salem with two flights a day. The airport is planning to perform terminal improvements using a preconstructed modular building.[14]

As part of the Port of Portland's PDX 2020 Master Plan, a third east-west runway is again under consideration.[15] 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. Extending the North West-East runway is another consideration.

[edit] See also

[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. ^ Besmirched 'Deportland' Wrestles With the I.N.S.. New York Times (31 August 2000). Retrieved on 2007-01-01.
  9. ^ Oregon Live - INS/PDX Problems. The Oregonian (December2000). Retrieved on 2007-01-01.
  10. ^ Delta cuts Portland service. Portland Business Journal (7 September 2000). Retrieved on 2006-10-21.
  11. ^ Lufthansa to add Portland service. Portland Business Journal (23 October 2002). Retrieved on 2006-10-21.
  12. ^ Press Release: Northwest To Fly Portland – Tokyo Nonstop. Northwest Airlines (7 January 2004). Retrieved on 2006-10-21.
  13. ^ Dan McMillan (14 March 2003). Mexicana adds service from PDX to Mexico. Portland Business Journal. Retrieved on 2006-10-21.
  14. ^ Delta to begin two daily flights from Salem to Salt Lake City. Statesman Journal (February 26, 2007). Retrieved on February 26, 2007.
  15. ^ PDX Airport Master Plan. Port of Portland (September 2000). Retrieved on 2006-10-21.

[edit] External links

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org../../../p/o/r/Portland_International_Airport_169c.html"