Tips For Holiday Travelers Passing Through PDX: Port Of Portland

From PDX: At Portland International Airport, passenger volumes will continue to build throughout this week, peaking on Dec. 21 and 22 when more than 63,000 travelers will pass through PDX on each of those days.

The total traveler count predicted for the two-week period spanning Dec. 18 – Jan. 2 is 914,000. PDX expects to end the 2017 calendar year welcoming more than 19 million travelers, marking a fifth consecutive record-breaking year.

Whether you’re picking up friends and family at PDX or heading out of town for the holidays, here are some quick reminders to help smooth the process at PDX this holiday season.

Heading Out of Town for the Holidays – PDX Departures

Safeguard your stuff

• When parking, remove valuables and personal items from your vehicle, roll up the windows and be sure to lock the car doors; in the terminal, keep your bags close and be aware of your surroundings. If you see something, say something.

Simplify parking payment

• Use a credit card at the entry plaza of all the airport parking lots, and that same credit card upon exit. This saves time, and means you don’t have to keep track of your parking ticket or stop to use the pay machines before exiting.

Use the app

• Wondering when the next shuttle bus will arrive? There's an app for that! The PDX Parking Shuttle App provides real-time arrival information for the shuttle buses serving the airport’s Red and Blue Economy Parking Lots. Tap the app's 'heart' icon when in the shelter waiting for the next bus, saving the shelter location and making it easier to find your car upon returning to the parking lot. Available for iOS and Android.

Welcoming Friends and Family – PDX Arrivals

Leave your furry friend at home

• Except for service animals, all pets in the terminal should be in carriers. Airports are loud and filled with people; why make it stressful for your four-legged friend? Leave Fido at home; we’re sure he’ll be equally excited to say hello to guests from the safety and comfort of home.

Keep kids occupied

• By week’s end, PDX plans to have installed a new kid’s activity station pre-security at the south end of the ticket lobby adjacent to Starbucks. While waiting for folks to arrive, you can grab coffee and the kids can play.

Take an art tour

• There are several notable pieces of artwork before security including a Louis Bunce mural above Blue Star Doughnuts painted in 1958. There’s also a new mural by Amy Ruppel adjacent to Starbucks in the A/B/C meet-and-greet area; while you wait, see if you can spot the sasquatch!

Not traveling for the December holidays? You can still get into the holiday travel spirit with the airport’s “Winter Wanderland” celebration. Enter online for your chance to win two tickets on Aeromexico’s nonstop service to Mexico City.

For the latest airport news and information, visit www.pdx.com, or @flyPDX on Twitter, or the airport’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/flypdx.

You can also follow the airport on Instagram: @pdxairport.

Photo by Natalie Behring/Getty Images