Portland International Airport

How one airport keeps animals away from airplanes

Wildlife, , ,

I’m working on a story about wildlife management at airports and this week did a ride-along with Nick Atwell, the  Aviation Wildlife Hazard manager at Portland International Airport.

His team is responsible for keeping animals – mostly birds, but also coyotes -away from airplanes, and one of the tools they use are home-made traps like the one above that allow birds to be safely captured, and then banded and relocated.

“Sometimes we drive them a few hours away,” Atwell told me, “Sometimes we fly them to Seattle and take them to the Canadian border.”

Here are some snaps of a few other tools the PDX wildlife team uses to keep birds away:

These and other images and stories gathered from airports around the country will be part of my next “At the Airport” column on USA TODAY.

Portland tops T+L list of 10 Best Domestic Airports – again

Airport shops, Airport Terminals, Airports,

For the sixth year running, Portland International Airport, with it free movie theater, cool shops, celebrity carpet and long list of other amenties, has come out on top of the  Travel + Leisure’s list of Best Domestic Airports for 2018.

And, as you might imagine, the folks there are awfully pleased.

“The credit for this accomplishment goes to our Portland International Airport team—the more than 10,000 who always deliver the best travel experience you’ll find anywhere,” Curtis Robinhold, Port of Portland executive director said in a statement. “The caring spirit of our PDX team, served up with local restaurants and shops, gives PDX its much-loved heart and character, reflecting the very best our region offers.”

Here are all 10 airports airports that made this year’s list

1. Portland International Airport

2. Indianapolis International Airport

3. Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport

4. Tampa International Airport

5. Pittsburgh International Airport

6. Austin-Bergstrom International Airport

7. Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport

8. John Wayne Airport, Orange County, CA

9. Palm Beach International Airport

10. Dallas Love Field

Travel + Leisure has been inviting readers to rate airports since 2013 on categories such as access, check-in and security, restaurants/bars, shopping and design.

Do you agree with the list? Which airports would you add?

Brewfest at Portland Int’l Airport

Contests, Fun Stuff,

Portland International Airport is celebrating the 30th anniversary of the now-iconic Clocktower in the shop and amenity-filled pre-secrurity area of the airport. And that means lots of fun – and free stuff – for travelers, meeters and greeters and anyone who knows what a pleasant area that pre-security space can be.

Coming up Friday, June 22, from 11:30 a.m. to  1:30 pm, the plaza will be transformed into a beer garden with more than a dozen craft beers available for tasting.  The event also celebrates the grand opening of Deschutes Brewery at PDX – the beermaker’s first location opening in Oregon in 10 years.

As part of the brewfest, attendees will be able to pick up a limited edition Clocktower 30 pin, which is one of four special pin designs travelers can collect this summer.

Can’t make it to the brewfest? PDX has many other events coming up throughout the summer. See the full schedule here.

While you’re there, enter the Clocktower contest which has as its prize a “Magic Coast of Oregon”-inspired package (valued at nearly $5,000) that includes five nights at the King Suite at the Cannery Pier Hotel in Astoria, OR, a sunset cruise for two, a zipline adventure with Highlife Adventures, a helicopter tour, several other activities plus multiple gift cards and a Pendleton luggage set and blanket.  Deadline is September 9, 2018. Enter here.

I used to live on the Oregon coast and can attest to the fact that is indeed a magical place.

See what’s showing at the movie theater inside Portland Int’l Airport

Movies, , ,

One of the many delightful amenities at Oregon’s Portland International Airport is the 17-seat, post-security microcinema showing short films by Oregon filmmakers.

A branch of the historic Hollywood Theatre, the Hollywood Theatre at Portland International Airport microcinema’s program offerings are changed quarterly. On tap for summer: shorts about everything from the Oregon Trail, the Rajneeshees, urban swimming, armadillos and more.

You can watch the films when you’re at the airport, see one of them below, or see the full list here.

 

New safety video for Qantas + preview of PDX new gates

Safety videos, , , ,

Happy Friday. Here are two fun videos to kick off the weekend. A pretty new safety video from Qantas and a time-lapse preview of a concourse expansion at Portland International Airport.