Portland airport’s latest terminal renovation will fix one lingering annoyance

Travelers make their way through the main terminal of the Portland International Airport on Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026

Though the Portland International Airport is still celebrating the 2024 opening of its new main terminal — a space that has earned the airport scores of accolades — PDX is now looking ahead to its next big addition.

Portland Coffee Roasters is among many local vendors available in the North Hall between Terminals D and E.

The Port of Portland, which operates the airport, gave a behind-the-scenes look Thursday at roughly 300,000 square feet of new space at PDX, showing off new storefronts, permanent art installations and, crucially, shorter walks to baggage claim.

Located at the north and south ends of the airport, the two new areas comprise 30% of the main terminal hall, officials said. Those areas, which are still walled off from the public, are expected to open on a rolling basis throughout the spring, airport officials said.

The $2.15 billion terminal project, which is paid for by the airlines that fly out of PDX, was originally expected to wrap up in December 2025. George Seaman, engineering project manager for the PDX Next project, said it has been able to stick to its original budget.

As walls begin to come down, PDX travelers will see not only more local shops and restaurants but more wood-beamed ceilings and more live plants throughout the airport.

“We’re really excited to share with the public the holistic look we’ve had on this project,” Seaman said. “You’ll see a continuation of the theme of a walk in the forest. You’ll see additional trees, additional plantings.”

Chief among the new features are the shorter exits to baggage claim. Even after the opening of the new main terminal, long walks have bedeviled travelers going between gates and baggage claim carousels. Travelers from all concourses have been funneled to the middle of the main terminal, where a temporary exit spits everyone out beside the towering set of stadium stairs.

New and original mosaic art piece by Lakota artist Dyani White Hawk, located in the South end of the post security meet-and-greet location is one of the first things travelers see when they exit.

Now, new exits on both the north and south ends of the airport will send people directly down to either end of the baggage claim area via escalators that descend through circular wood-beamed openings in the floor.

“That was one of the holistic views we had of the terminal building, for the passengers to be able to exit their planes and quickly get to baggage claim instead of having to walk through the middle of the terminal building,” Seaman said.

That will, however, mean those picking up friends and family in person will need to find new places to wait. The stadium stairs that have served as a meet-and-greet location will no longer serve that purpose. People will instead meet incoming travelers at the north and south exit points, near the escalators to baggage claim.

Long walks to the rideshare area will remain, airport officials said, though the renovated baggage claim areas will offer quicker access to public transit.

The new construction will also offer travelers 14 new storefronts both before and after security, which will be opening on a rolling basis throughout the spring.

On the south end, between concourses B and C, new storefronts include Columbia Sportswear, Topaz Farm, Kure Superfoods, Lola’s Cafe and a grab-and-go shop sponsored by the recently shuttered Skanner News. On the north end, between concourses D and E, will be Barbur Food, the Bar Pilot Bar, and a storefront bearing the name of the recently shuttered Sheridan Fruit Company.s

Work continues on Phase 2 of the Portland International Airport terminal project. A new design for the escalators, surrounded by wood beams, will take travelers down to baggage claim.

Airport officials confirmed that Skanner News storefront would continue to bear the historic newspaper’s name, but that the port is still in discussion about the Sheridan name.

Those new openings will be in addition to several expansions of existing airport businesses. Portland Coffee Roasters, Portland Gear, Steven Smith Teamaker, Straightaway Cocktails and Freeland Spirits will all expand from their current kiosk setups this year. Powell’s Books opened its larger storefront in February, along with the new Columbia Sportswear store.

“We’re so excited about these locations,” Kaitlin Hunter, senior manager of concessions for the airport, said. “100% of them are local brands which is really important to us here at PDX, to represent the region.”

Two business that opened with the new main terminal in 2024, Orox Leather Co. and Missionary Chocolates, will be closing Feb. 27, to be replaced with Mikiko Mochi Donuts and Ecovibe. Those storefronts are part of the airport’s Pop-Up Program, aimed at smaller local businesses.

“These pop-up locations give these smaller tenants the opportunity to test out having a space here at the airport before they submit potentially for a location in the future,” Hunter said.

The Portland International Airport has promised much more as the rollout continues this spring. Aside from the new exits and new storefronts, there will be a bevy of new art, all either by Pacific Northwest artists or inspired by the region. One piece that’s already up, but still behind construction walls, is a stunning 55-foot mosaic by Lakota artist Dyani White Hawk, displayed on a wall by the south security exit.

Work continues on Phase 2 of the Portland International Airport terminal project, as seen from the mezzanine above the North Hall between Terminals D and E.

Wendy Given, art program manager for the airport, said it will be followed by nine other pieces, including several large works at the entrance of the airport by local Indigenous artists Lillian Pitt (Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs), Travis Stewart (Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde), James Lavadour (Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation) and Marie Watt (Seneca Nation of Indians).

“We really wanted to speak to the land and speak to Oregon and the Pacific Northwest region,” Given said. “I think with art, concepts, materials, skills rise to the top.”

Seaman said there will still be work to be done once the new spaces are complete and open to the public. For one thing there’s a massive new Alaska Airlines lounge, expected to open later this year. But as things finish up this phase of the project, he said the team behind the renovations is just happy to see the walls finally coming down.

“It’s extremely exciting,” Seaman said. “The thousands of craft workers on this project were really honored to present this project.”

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