PORTLAND, Ore. — After years of construction and a few more months of last-minute delay, the Port of Portland finally took the wraps off the brand-new main terminal at Portland International Airport on Wednesday. Travelers and visitors can see the finished airport centerpiece that they've been anticipating ever since the first concept art surfaced.
It's a ground-up rebuild for the airport's main terminal, replacing and reconfiguring everything from the ticket counters and security lines to the vendor booths and lounge areas, all underneath a sprawling new wooden roof designed to let in plenty of natural light for the newly installed trees throughout the wide-open space below.
Whether you're looking forward to seeing it all when you head out on your next flight, or planning to make a quick visit sooner just for the sake of seeing the airport, here are five key things you should know about the new terminal:
1. You don't need a plane ticket to see it
This is the airport's main terminal where departing travelers arrive, pick up boarding passes and drop off luggage, which means there are no restrictions on public access. The rear corners of the terminal — and a few vendors — are tucked away behind the new security lines and are off-limits to visitors, but most everything else is fair game.
The post-security connecting corridor is also returning, allowing travelers to zip between the C and D concourses without having to go back through security. That's another part that will be off-limits to visitors, but the good news is the all-glass walls will still offer views straight through the corridor and out onto the tarmac. And the best views are on the mezzanine above the connector, which is entirely pre-security.
2. The restaurant and vendor lineup
Travelers have had to deal with a reduced lineup of food and retail options at PDX for the past few years, but that all changes Wednesday. Near the ticket islands, visitors will find The County Cat, Missionary Chocolates, OROX Leather Co. and Portland Coffee Roasters. PiPH and Hello From Portland are below the mezzanine, while Loyal Legion serves up pints upstairs.
Post-security, travelers will pass Pendleton, Sizzle Pie, Blue Star Donuts and Grassa at one end of the terminal, plus kiosks for Freeland Spirits, Portland Gear, Portland Coffee Roasters and Steven Smith Teamaker. The other end of the terminal features Stumptown Coffee Roasters, Oven and Shaker, Capers Market and kiosks for Powell's Books and Straightaway Cocktails.
The kiosks will all expand into full-fledged retail spaces in 2026, and they'll be joined by a few other post-security establishments later that year. And remember, the concourse connector is back, so no worries about getting stuck in the wrong half of the airport if you've got a hankering for a specific food destination.
3. About that roof...
The sweeping wooden roof is undeniably the main attraction of the new terminal, giving it a uniquely Pacific Northwest feel. It's constructed from 2.6 million feet of Douglas Fir, using the mass timber method where smaller pieces are glued together to form the main structural beams, cutting down on the project's carbon footprint.
With the help of the nonprofit Sustainable Northwest, most of the wood was sourced from Yakama Forest Products on the Yakama Reservation in Washington State, which uses selective logging to harvest trees in a sustainable fashion and preserve more of the forest. The builders hope the sustainable and local supply chain can be replicated for other projects.
Instead of being built in place, the roof was constructed in a field to the west of the airport terminal, tucked between the main runways. Once complete, the structure was broken into 20 modules that were moved over one at a time and slid into place on top of the pre-built pillars in the future main terminal.
4. Where's the carpet?
All right, we get it: the new roof is going to have everybody looking up. But anyone who's spent any time at PDX knows the airport also has a storied tradition of looking down, to snap all those selfies on the iconic carpet. The updated terminal features a bit barer flooring, but there's still plenty of carpeting at the check-in counters and security areas.
"But wait," I hear you saying suspiciously. "Which carpet are we talking about?"
PDX replaced the old-school carpet in 2015, and the updated design got a more lukewarm reception than its predecessor. The bulk of the carpeting in the new terminal does stick with the more recent design, but fear not! A good bit of the vintage 80s carpet is still around — head up to the mezzanine and you'll find it.
5. We're not done yet
The area debuting on Wednesday is impressive, but it's still only about two-thirds of the full main terminal. The project had to be broken up into two phases so the airport could keep functioning during construction, leaving the original two security checkpoints in place until the new ones were ready to go.
Travelers have been ferried around the construction for the past few years, heading straight into the old security lines and then out to the B and E concourses. A pair of temporary external connecting corridors loop out onto the tarmac to reach the C and D concourses.
Once the Phase 1 area opens on Wednesday, the original security checkpoints will close and construction will begin on Phase 2, which will turn the old security areas into new exit lanes. Travelers will leave through a temporary exit beneath the main terminal mezzanine until Phase 2 is complete and the full terminal opens in early 2026.
