Thanksgiving Travel Close To Pre-Pandemic Level: Port Of Portland

PORTLAND, OR — If you're planning on traveling this week and those plans involve flying in or out of Portland International Airport, be prepared to travel like it's 2019. Well, almost.

The Port of Portland, which operates the airport, says that they expect Thanksgiving travel to be significantly busier than last year. It should even approach the level of pre-pandemic 2019.

Officials estimate that Thanksgiving Week travel – from the Friday before through the Monday after – close to 500,000 will pass through the airport. That's more than double the 200,000 that traveled through PDX last year.

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The busiest travel days should be Saturday and Sunday when the port forecasts 48,000 people being there each day, just below the 2019 levels of between 55,000 and 56,000.

Officials say that anyone planning on traveling out of PDC to leave themself some extra time. They say that people should arrive at least two hours before their flight and to expect really long lines at security.

Port officials offer some other suggestions:

• There is no longer a hallway connecting all gates past security. Confirm your departure gate so you only go through security screening once.
• The Oregon Market (pre-security shops and restaurants) has closed, but there are still pre-security food and beverage options.
• Bypass hallways add 3 to 5 minutes of walk time on the concourses to safely move people around construction sites and keep travelers connected to their favorite shops and restaurants.

As always, you can go to www.flypdx.com for more information.