Portland Airport’s expansive, ‘earthy’ new main terminal opens to rave reviews, wows travelers

PORTLAND, Ore. (KGW/KTVZ) — Throughout the past four years of construction, officials at Portland International Airport promised that the new main terminal would be worth the wait and the hassle — and they were absolutely right, according to many of the first travelers to pass through on Wednesday, KGW reported.

"It's amazing. I think it's beautiful," said United Airlines pilot Brian Buck, who is based out of Portland. "I've been waiting to see this thing unveiled, and it's impressive ... one of the nicest domestic airports, I think, in the country, really."

Rick Leverence, who was traveling with Betz, also complimented the open and airy feeling of the terminal, which he said avoids the congested and claustrophobic feeling of some older airports.

The oak floors in the center of the terminal and the indoor trees and gardens dotting the interior were hits as well, contributing to what multiple travelers described as a grounded and natural feeling.

"There's this really nice earthy element to it," said Diana, who was traveling from Texas. "I think it's really soothing, especially when you're traveling, to have something like fresh air, or something like fresh trees to give you that."

There were still signs of construction visible on Wednesday at the edges of the terminal, but the central space was fully ready to go, with all the pre-security restaurants already open and drawing lively crowds. 

In a particular Portland twist, travelers exiting out into the main terminal were immediately greeted by live music from a piano to the right and a pair of friendly visiting llamas on the left, both backed by the stands of trees that make up the terminal's central forested area.

The $2 billion terminal project is being constructed in two phases so that the old ticket counters and security checkpoints could keep operating until the new ones were ready to go, which meant the airport had to shift all of those operations to their new facilities literally overnight for Wednesday's grand opening. 

That process appeared to go off without any major hitches; the check-in and security lines moved smoothly throughout the day, and all of the pre-security shops, restaurants and cafes were up and running to serve both passengers and visitors.

And while beautification is certainly one goal of the $2 billion renovation project, the intention was also to increase the available space and allow the airport to run more smoothly — and travelers also rated that aspect as a success on Wednesday.

"The check-in area is a lot more efficient now, so I want to say yeah, it's a big improvement," said Nathan Bae, who grew up in Oregon and uses the airport often while going to school in Texas. "There used to be choke points before, but now it's just way more open and everyone can kind of just walk around and do their own thing too."