Portland International Airport is gearing up for the spring travel surge by staffing the terminal with extra-friendly faces to help get travelers where they need to go and providing web resources to help travelers feel prepared for the journey.
Spring Break Stats
Just over a million travelers are expected to pass through PDX during the peak spring travel period, spanning 25 days from March 17 through April 10 and encompassing both Oregon and Washington school spring breaks.
On half of those days, more than 40,000 travelers are expected to pass through PDX daily; the single busiest day is expected to be today, March 17, with more than 44,000 travelers. The current daily average number of travelers is about 35,000 during this time of year.
Be Prepared
Plan for parking. With 16,500 spaces across the parking system, PDX expects to have a spot for all travelers. Bicycle and motorcycle parking is free at the terminal, too. Learn more here.
Mask up. The Transportation Security Administration extended the federal mask mandate to April 18; face coverings are still required inside at airports nationwide and onboard all airlines.
Arrive at least two hours in advance. Allow enough time to navigate the airport and travel process without stress or concern about missing a flight.
The airport’s website is the best resource for all things PDX: flight status, construction impacts, parking availability, shops & dining, art & music and more. Travelers can also call or text the PDX customer service team: 503.460.4234.
Also, new at PDX: airport paging messages that can be heard on the overhead speakers or seen on flight information displays throughout the terminal are now also on the website. All pages for a rolling 24-hours period are displayed. If a traveler believes they have been paged, they can search their name on the webpage. The airport website also contains many resources related to accessibility.
Fast Forward to Summer
Staying put for spring and looking forward to summer? Still deciding on your summer sojourn? The airport looks forward to the restart of transatlantic flights for the coming summer.
- Condor Airlines returns to PDX with nonstop service to Frankfurt on May 3.
- Delta Air Lines returns the nonstop PDX-Amsterdam flight beginning May 5.
- Icelandair returns with nonstop service to Reykjavik on May 10.
- As announced, British Airways plans to begin nonstop service from PDX to London’s Heathrow Airport on June 3. Travelers will fly on one of British Airways’ newest aircraft, the Boeing 787 Dreamliner.
In North America, Air Canada will be resuming their seasonal nonstop flights on June 27 with four-times weekly service from Portland to Toronto.
Currently, Volaris operates nonstop service to Guadalajara, Air Canada flies to Vancouver, and WestJet flies to Calgary. Through the winter, Alaska Airlines operated nonstop flights to their three Mexico beach markets: Los Cabos, Puerto Vallarta and Cancun.
Quarantine and other travel restrictions persist in many parts of Asia, making travel more difficult to this region of the world. Delta plans to return transpacific service this fall: the nonstop PDX to Seoul-Incheon flight is scheduled to start September 9, and the nonstop PDX to Tokyo-Haneda on October 29.
As travel continues to pick up, and lines get longer, consider applying for TSA Pre-Check or Global Entry to help expedite transit through airport security checkpoints.
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