PDX’s Newest Concourse Opens, will Serve Mostly Regional Flights

Portland International Airport on Wednesday opened its new Concourse B, which will serve Alaska and Horizon airlines and will have flights to mostly regional airports, such as Seattle, Bend and Boise.

The Port of Portland, which operates the airport, demolished Concourse A two years ago, and workers have been building the new wing in its place for about two years. It has 10 gates, including four jet bridges and six ground-loading sites.

Port Executive Director Curtis Robinhold said the new concourse is more open and better-lit than the old one, with floor-to-ceiling windows and views of the airfield. It will also soon have a few well-known Portland eateries, including Good Coffee and Screen Door, a popular chicken and waffles restaurant.

Like much of the ongoing construction at PDX, Concourse B also incorporates Pacific Northwest material into its structure and highlights the work of local artists, according to the Port of Portland.

There are three interactive art pieces at the concourse, created by Ryan Feddersen, a Northwest artist who is an enrolled member of the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation.

The new concourse is part of a $2 billion, five-year airport renovation project. A complete makeover of the terminal is scheduled to be completed in 2025.

The Portland airport averaged close to 20 million passengers annually before March 2020. At the beginning of the pandemic, the airport saw a 94% drop in travelers. That number has ticked back up, with traffic now about 25% down from its pre-pandemic average.

—Jayati Ramakrishnan

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