Portland Airport

I cannot say enough good things about PDX. The ticketing lobby is open and airy. The boarding gate concourses are well maintained with ample room to relax a bit. Food and shopping options offer typical products of the Pacific Northwest. My only complaint would be about the United Express and Alaska/Horizon regional boarding areas. They are crowded noisy and in the winter cold. I was so impressed this time with the professionalism of the customs immigration and agriculture inspectors. They were friendly personable and helpful. One feature I really liked was the presence of "Ask Me" persons who stand by at strategic places and can help with just about any question. International travelers may find the shuttle bus around to the main terminal from the customs area a bit trying. Here's hoping they can get that changed up soon. There are even musicians at times in each of the terminals playing pianos and guitars. Nice. Maybe rocking chairs could be added ala airports in the South.

My favorite airport that I've been to in the US. Clean organized good amenities clean and functional bathrooms friendly employees nice waiting areas etc. Pick up and drop off is a breeze. It gets me where I need to go and offers me the services and good I need. Pretty simple.

I recently flew out of and back to PWM. Due to weather my outgoing flight was delayed by 3 hours. But thanks to a courtesy call from the airline/airport I could catch an earlier flight if I could get to the airport in one hour. It was slightly stressful but it was not at all difficult to drive ~4 miles from the city find long-term parking check-in go through security run to the gate and board the plane with carry-on. The return flight was long due to connections but it was super easy to navigate the terminal and parking garage once we'd all de- boarded the plane.

I fly frequently through PDX sometimes several times per month depending upon where my current workplace is located. Pick-up and drop-off has never been a problem as long as one does so efficiently and if not then expect the traffic patrol to move you along. TSA is another matter. I am under medical orders to not use the scanner screens so must have pat-downs each flight. When I inform TSA that I cannot go through the scanner due to the medical conditions they are invariably rude and frequently leave me standing for several minutes. I work in an industry where I frequently test positive for certain chemical combinations which further puts the wind up in them even though I carry all the proper credentials and in all likelihood have had a more extensive background check to work in my industry than they do in theirs. I establish my credentials and usually have to demand a superior to handle the questioning and pat-down which makes the process longer but more civil. In short there is too much of the them-versus-us attitude from TSA. Other amenities are reasonable the toilet facilities are superior in cleanliness to most airports but the bars are irritating demanding identification-proof of age from those of us past 50 for a drink. Nonsense. In short PDX has both positives and negatives much like most airports access is good from the freeway the traffic jam is TSA.

Arrived here on an international flight from AMS connecting to a US domestic flight. Immigration and customs fast and efficient. Was outside the terminal within 20 mins from deplaning. Security screening for domestic connection well organized efficient and quick. The most friendly and courteous TSA officers I've seen in a US airport.

Arrived and departed on domestic flights so can't comment on facilities for Immigration and Customs. Airport is clean and fairly modern. My only complaints are the long walks needed to get from gates to the area for luggage etc. and the complicated paths one must take to get from the rental car area (in one of the parking structures) to the main terminal. Lots of airport hotels though noise can be a problem. Not a large array of eateries but you can do fairly well in terms of both food and drink while waiting for a flight.

The has to be the most effective efficient and user friendly airport in the US. The TSA set up is spacious and quick. Never long waits and they appear to be genuinely interested in customer service. Shops and restaurants are all reasonably priced. The quality of the food is excellent as well. Access into and out of parking both long and short term is convenient and simple. There are also on site car rental spaces as well no crowded buses to get to an off-site location.

Worst experience picking up a passenger ever. I am partially handicapped and have the blue sticker with me in my car and I always try to pick up passengers in the handicapped zone at PDX (what a joke that turned out to be) since I move rather slowly esp. after having sat in the drivers seat for a while. Yesterday after being called from the cell-phone waiting area I went to meet my party at the handicapped loading zone right next to the Delta / Horizon zone put my handicap sticker in plain view in the front window and before I could even finish pulling over and popping open the trunk I was verbally assaulted by an unbelievably obnoxious meter maid demanding that I move on. She didn't even give me a chance to explain that I was picking up my passenger and immediately plunked herself in front of my car and began writing a $70 ticket! My passenger was loading her bags in the trunk and got in no more than 60 seconds later and couldn't understand why this woman was behaving so outrageously. My advice - avoid this place like the plague.

We arrived at this airport but cannot comment on departure facilities. While it was nice to have the consolidated rental car facility near the terminal with no shuttle bus required finding the correct entrance was a bit confusing. As noted having a light rail station adjacent to the station is a definite plus (about 45 min to the area of downtown where we were staying) though we had so many bags we did not use it. Although I had read that taxis to downtown cost about $30 we were told at the airport they would cost about $45 and so used one of the shuttle vans costing about $14 per person (usable for downtown only). There are several hotels and shopping malls near the airport. I agree that the road immediately in front of the terminal is crowded and chaotic. Use caution when talking out to the center island for courtesy vans (eg. for hotels).

Connected through PDX enroute to Canada and was disappointed to find no duty free stores in the airport. It's the first time I've seen this at an international airport and definitely something they need to improve upon! Next time I'll be connecting through Seattle.