After five years of construction at Portland International Airport, the final piece — the reconstructed main terminal — will open in May.
Gone is the dark and dingy Concourse A, once used for regional flights, and in its place is an extended Concourse B with airy ceilings and ample seating. The Concourse E Extension — serving Southwest Airlines, United Airlines and Air Canada — has opened, and the new transportation plaza and rental car center are open. The projects are a part of the $2 billion PDX Next rebuilding and airport expansion, primarily funded by the airlines.
The reconstructed main terminal includes a new 392,000-square-foot wood roof, pre-security shops and restaurants and nearly double the square footage of the old main terminal.
PDX Next’s slogan is “Look up” at the new roof (as opposed to down at the carpet, a PDX tradition). The project works to build on what makes PDX one of the nation’s best airports: local concessions with street pricing and an inviting environment that aims to make flying less stressful.
“The excitement about this is pretty contagious,” said Allison Ferre, media relations manager with the Port of Portland, which owns and operates the airport.
The new main terminal
The main terminal remains very much under construction: plastic drapes the chandeliers, live trees are not yet in their wells and the concession areas are still taking shape.
The area is designed to evoke a walk in the forest with the wooden roof, overhead skylights and live trees. Although the finishing touches aren’t done, what is clear is the generous amount of natural light the new roof allows.
Building off the airport’s local theme, 95 percent of the steel used in the new roof comes from within 25 miles, and all the wood comes from within 300 miles of the airport, primarily from small family farms, tribal lands and sustainably managed forests. (A Vancouver company, Thompson Metal Fab, fabricated the steel used in the Y columns that support the roof.)
It will be “pretty special when people walk through and see a piece of the airport they contributed,” Ferre said.
Reconnecting the concourses
Included in the new main terminal are two new security checkpoints and airline ticket counters, as well as the return of the concourse connector — hallways that connect the two wings of the airport post-security.
Restaurants include Grassa, Pilot House Distilling, Sizzle Pie and the return of Blue Star donuts. With the airport’s “street pricing” policy, travelers won’t fork over more cash inside the airport than they would at locations outside the airport.
Shops include Columbia Sportswear, Pendleton and Hello From Portland. View the full list at: https://bit.ly/47URVT2.
Opening in phases
The main terminal will open in two phases.
The first phase, launching in May and continuing into October, includes the terminal itself and the first round of concessions. After opening day, the current ticketing counters will be demolished and new flooring will be installed in the lobby.
The second phase, from May 2024 to the end of 2025, includes turning the current security screening areas into exit lanes from the concourses to the terminal. More restrooms and eight additional new local restaurants and shops are part of this phase.
And then?
PDX Next becomes PDX Now.
Editor’s note: This story has been corrected to reflect that phase two of opening the main terminal — including turning the current security screening areas into exit lanes and more restrooms — will take from May to the end of 2025.
