Portland International Airport
Facts on PDX
PDX was built in the late 1930s as a Depression-era Works Progress Administration project dubbed a "super airport." Because the low-lying site along the Columbia River flooded easily, over 1,000 workers spread more than 4 million cubic yards of sand across it and built dikes before two runways opened in 1941.
Source: Wikipedia
In 1948 the entire airport was submerged for months by the Vanport Flood, which forced scheduled airline service to reroute to nearby Troutdale Airport until the water receded.
Source: Wikipedia
The new A, B and C concourses, designed by Zimmer Gunsul Frasca around a Columbia River theme, were completed on September 10, 2001 -- the celebratory opening party planned for the following weekend was cancelled after the September 11 attacks.
Source: Wikipedia
PDX's geometric teal carpet, installed in 1987 to stylize the airport's criss-crossing runways, became such a beloved local icon that when it was replaced with a new design beginning in 2014, Portlanders started printing it on socks and other memorabilia to keep the pattern alive.
Source: Wikipedia
Delta Air Lines ran a small transpacific "Pacific gateway" hub at PDX from 1987 to 2001, flying to Tokyo, Seoul, Nagoya and Taipei. Complaints about treatment of Asian passengers at the Portland immigration facility during the hub years earned the airport the local nickname "Deportland."
Source: Wikipedia
The Port of Portland requires every shop and restaurant at PDX to practice fair retail pricing, barring them from charging more than their off-airport locations. The terminal also houses a microcinema run by the Hollywood Theatre that screens free short films by Pacific Northwest filmmakers.
Source: Wikipedia
PDX accounts for about 90% of Oregon's passenger air travel and more than 95% of its air cargo, making it overwhelmingly the state's dominant airport. It sits within Portland's city limits just south of the Columbia River.
Source: Wikipedia
PDX's new main terminal, built in phases starting in 2020 with a distinctive wood-lattice roof, was declared fully complete on June 30, 2026, after eleven years of planning and construction. Condé Nast Traveler had already named PDX one of the world's most beautiful airports in 2025.
Source: Wikipedia