Those charming therapy llamas, Panda and Beni, will be pretending to be reindeers at Portland International Airport (PDX) this holidy season with visits starting Tuesday 24 and repeating every week until Christmas with visits scheduled on December 3rd, 11th, 18th and 23rd.
The lovely llamas start their visits in the pre-security area of the main terminal at 10 am and mosey along to greet passengers in the concourses.
54th Anniversary of the D.B. Cooper Hijacking. Still unsolved.
Today, November 24th, marks the 54th anniversary of the day in 1971 when a man using the name Dan Cooper purchased a ticket on Northwest Orient Flight 305 from Portland to Seattle.
“Cooper” paid $20 for his ticket and shortly after the plane took off from Portland he handed a flight attendant a note saying he had a bomb in his breifcase. He then demanded $200,000 in $20 bills and four parachutes.
The flight landed in Seattle, the other passengers were released and Cooper then demanded that the crew fly him, the money and the parachutes to Mexico City.
But somewhere over southwest Washington, possibly near Ariel, Washington, Cooper lowered the rear steps of the airplane and jumped out..
In 1980, a youg boy came upon $5800 worth of rotting bundles of $20 bills from the original ransonm money along a river bank. But no trace of D.B. Cooper (as news reports mistakenly ID’d him) have ever been found. This remains the world’s only unsolved airplane hijacking case.
We already know the ZGF-designed expansion of the main terminal at Portland International Airport (PDX) made a very cool airport even cooler.
Now the amenities and features in the new terminal space, most notably the 9-acre mass timber roof, have inspired a fun rap video.
“‘PDX (Wooden Roof),” described in a press release as “the first and only rap video about the Portland International Airport’s mass timber roof,” debuted in April at a state travel conference held in Portland and is an original collaboration between DJ Avelanche, The Mayoress, Mike Likes Science, and Karma Rivera.
The video is joyous and fun. It shows off so many of the great new PDX Airport features, including the beloved PDX Carpet. And it is, hands down, the best love song to an airport and an airport roof ever.
Stuck at the Airport declares this The Airport Amenity of the Week.
Everyone loves the greenery, the 9-acre mass timber roof, outposts of beloved local shops and restaurants, the comfy lounging spots sporting bits of the famed PDX carpet and the fact that the coolest new amenities are pre-security.
Now there’s one more reason to make a beeline to PDX even if you’re not flying.
PDX now has a speakeasy bar, called Aurora, hidden inside Loyal Legion, the pre-security beer hall on the mezzanine level.
The celestial-inspired bar is named after the Roman goddess of dawn and was designed by Portland-based ELK Collective.
And rather than being speakeasy-dark, Aurora has a bright, art-deco interior, technicolor window treatments and west-facing windows offering views of the runway and Portland sunsets.
The menu includes local beers and wine and shareable small plates as a well as a creative and very reaonably priced cocktail menu with creative pours such as the Aurora Sour (RIttenhouse Rye, Midori, lemon, egg white, red wine float), Diamond Tooth (Haku vodka, yuzu, coconut, lemon) and Hot Soup (Wild Turkey, bone broth, sesame, green onion tincture).
Want to get into the PDX speakeasy?
The entrance to the Aurora speakeasy at PDX airport is in the Loyal Legion beer hall space, on the pre-security mezzanine level, between the main bar and the restrooms. Look for the words “Curiosity Opens the Door” next to the unmarked entrance.
Hours are 4-8pm Monday through Friday, though airport officials say those hours may expand as the summer travel season picks up.
The password to get in?
No password is required. According to our insider at PDX airport, “Guests only have to approach the bar team and ask a question to receive the access code,” because… ‘Curiosity Opens the Door.’
Oregon’s Portland International Airport (PDX) opens its doors today on a swanky new main lobby in the terminal that everyone will love.
The Stuck at the Airport team visited a few days before the space opened. Here are some (more) images from our tour.
The old carpet is back. In some places.
There are plenty of places in the airport that are carpeted. But PDX has brought back the social media-famous old carpet patten in a handful of spots in the terminal.
Stadium seating and giant video screens
Two sets of stadium seating with wood benches face each other in the middle of the main terminal lobby. Behind them – over the security checkpoints – are giant video screens with art and imagery of Oregon landscapes.
Art abounds in the new main terminal at PDX
Live trees, a 9-acre wooden roof and live plants
The new main terminal at PDX feels like a park with dozens of trees, a 9-acre timber roof, thousands of plants and lots of places to sit down and enjoy it all.
Construction has been going on for more than three years.
But the temporary walls come down on August 14.
And that’s when travelers at Portland International Airport (PDX) will see the new airy, tree-lined pre-security lobby, the massive, vaulted wood ceiling, new and returning shops, lots of art, the latest technology at the security checkpoint, and many other new amenities.
And they’ll know the wait was worth it.
StuckatTheAirport.com got a preview of the lobby at Portland International Airport.
Here are some snaps from our tour.
The center of the new lobby has two sections of stadium seating that will be great for hanging out with friends and family before going through security. This is also where performances will take place. We spotted a grand piano off to the side.
At the top of each section are small lounge areas with – hooray – sections of carpeting that bring back the well-loved and Internet-famous old carpet design. So get ready for a new stream of foot selfies with the #PDXCarpet tag.
Stay tuned for more about the new lobby area at Portland International Airport.
Seattle’s Museum of Pop Culture (MoPOP), home to exhibits and experiences celebrating rock and roll music, science fiction and other expressions of popular culture, wants to The National Museum of Pop Culture.
And this week a bill was introduced in the House of Representatives to get the process in motion. The bill will have to pass through congressional committees before it can be voted on by the House of Representatives and the Senate, and then the President would have to sign the bill into law. But we’re confident that will happen.
While that process is going on, we encourage you to visit the museum when you’re in town to see exhibits that include Massive: The Power of Pop Culture, Hidden Worlds: The Films of Laika, Hendrix: Wild Blue Angel, Fantasy World of Myth and Magic – and much more.
Help test out the new main terminal at PDX Airport
Portland International Airport (PDX) will open its new main terminal sometime in August. But first, they need to test it out.
As part of that process, the airport is seeking volunteers for a PDX Dress Rehearsal on Saturday, August 3. Volunteers will serve as pretend travelers and test out the check-in and security systems and share feedback.
As a bonus, the airport is giving volunteers a $50 gift card.
But as luck would have it, when the new main terminal opens later this year, it will feature patches of the old carpet pattern in a few places.
The PDX teams had a local company recreate the original pattern and will be installing 5,865 square feet of that carpeting in spots where passengers and visitors will most likely be sitting, resting, and listening to music in the new main terminal area.
We can barely wait!!!
Let’s hope they bring back all the PDX Carpet souvenirs too.
The Stuck at the Airport collection of airport and airplane-themed socks just keeps growing. The latest addition comes from Bradley International Airport (BDL), near Hartford, Connecticut. BDL was also kind enough to send along a notepad with the airport’s slogan: Love the Journey.
The BDL socks join the socks in our collection that sport the retired pattern of the carpet at Portland International Airport (PDX) which spawned the passenger trend of taking “footies” on airport carpets nationwide. We’re looking forward to the wearing our PDX socks when PDX airport opens its new main terminal area in May.
Cool New Kids’ Play Area at Portland International Airport
The family travel team at Stuck at the Airport knows that traveling with kids can be trying.
That’s why we’re delighted to see airports adding or refreshing play areas with creative and engaging features.
The latest on the scene is at Portland International Airport (PDX). There, the Tillamook County Creamery Association has created a cool new kids’ play area on Concourse E.
The 600-square-foot space has steps, slides, and a flying van designed with children ages 3 to 8 – and people of all abilities – in mind. The bouncy flooring is made from post-consumer recycled materials and the mural on the wall is by illustrator Josephine Rais.
The Tillamook Market, also on Concourse E, serves up meals made with Tillamook’s famous cheese and other locally-sourced ingredients, scoops of Tillamook ice cream, exclusive branded merch, and grab-and-go favorites including famous Tillamook Cheese Curds.
Freshful Fridge at Santa Barbara Airport
Stuck at the Airport is 100% in favor of healthy food options at all airports.
And we’re big fans of the Farmer’s Fridge salad vending machines offering fresh meals at more than 20 airports.
The trend is growing.
Santa Barbara Airport (SBA) has a new Freshful Fridge vending machine filled with locally-sourced snacks, salads, and beverages. Look for it in the SBA baggage claim area on the first floor.
Something fresh has arrived! SBA is excited to announce the opening of Freshful Fridge.
Freshful Fridge is a smart fridge that offers snacks, salads, and beverages that are all fresh, locally sourced, and delicious. Check it out in the baggage claim area on the first floor! pic.twitter.com/k4t7EsRKoc
For a while now, Amsterdam Schiphol Airport (AMS) has been placing caps on the number of departing passengers and flights. The action is an effort to deal with staff shortages that are causing long lines, canceled flights, and giant baggage backups.
KLM, Schiphol’s biggest customer, and a handful of other airlines aren’t happy about those flight caps and have filed a suit against Schiphol.
Beginning “no later than 2025 – 26,” Schiphol will ban aircraft takeoffs between midnight and 6 am and all aircraft landings between midnight and 5 am.
Private jets and the noisiest airplanes will no longer be welcome at Schiphol. And plans for an additional runway are being scrapped.
“ We need to be sustainable for our employees, the local environment, and the world,” said Ruud Sondag, Royal Schiphol Group CEO. “I realize that our choices may have significant implications for the aviation industry, but they are necessary. This shows we mean business.”
KLM said in a statement that while it believes “operations should be in balance with our surroundings and the climate,” the airline is “astonished” that Schiphol is “unilaterally putting forward proposals that will have far-reaching consequences for airlines, without involving the industry parties in this process.”
Instead, KLM said, it would prefer “to work with the rest of the aviation industry on developing further measures to reduce CO2 emissions and noise pollution.”
“This nonstop service on Flight CHBZ will depart from the Manyard H. Jackston International Terminal from Gate F8 at 7:30 p.m,” the airport said in a statement,” adding that concessions were going to be serving “Wakandan-inspired dishes pre-flight.”
That flight number, CHBZ, was unusual. But it was a nod to the late Chadwick Bosman, the actor who played film protagonist King T’Challa.
🗣Breaking News: Hartsfield-Jackson announces the return of direct flights to Wakanda! pic.twitter.com/EEkMPFYsJt
This isn’t the first time ATL got into the Wakanda spirit. Back in 2018, when Black Panther debuted, the airport announced that Flight 1234 would be heading to Wakanda as well.
The service is available inside MKE’s Summerfest Marketplace, which is located presecurity in the Airport’s concession mall.
Passengers heading to destinations where the weather promises to be warm can check coats, gloves, and other cold weather gear and travel lighter. When they return, their coats will be warm and waiting for them.
The service is available seven days a week, and is open through the last flight of each day from now until April 1.
This is the fourth year the service is being offered and the cost remains a reasonable $2 per day, with a maximum of $10 per trip.
PDX Carpet Gets Sporty
Courtesy Portland Trailblazers
The iconic carpet pattern that once graced the terminal floors of Portland International Airport (PDX) lives on. And on.
The latest tribute to the flooring design comes from none other than city’s professional baskeball team, the Portland Trailblazers.
They team’s new City Edition Uniform bears a teal sash that is an homage to the PDX Carpet pattern that represented the view of the North and South runways as seen overhead by air traffic controllers. The carpet gained cult status in the 1990s and was replaced in 2015. (But it’s coming back...)
The @trailblazers’ new City Edition Uniform has landed and it pays homage to our iconic carpet ✈️
