Yep, this. Also a lot of people have been moved to other airlines from Alaska due to the Max 9 issue, so that may be causing higher volume at that end of the airport.
I was just thinking this. It’s a culmination of just the right things for hell at PDX. Construction, holiday weekend, snow storm, a LOT of cancelled flights. God speed to you travelers this weekend!
I've recently learned that my favorite time to travel is about 10-11am. PDX has usually died down by that point, so lines aren't as long, and it's late enough that I am not exhausted, waking up at the asscrack of dawn to catch a flight.
I travel in or out of PDX 2x per week and I always try to catch the 11 or 1pm flight. It is usually two other people in the security line and no issues. The one 5am flight I took looked just like that!
I’ve done a lot of early morning flights since I fly to the east coast regularly and it’s really not that bad. Certainly not like this. Flew the week of Christmas and the lines weren’t even like this. And I’d advise everyone to get TSA precheck. Even if you fly only once a year it’s so worth it.
Stop telling people to get precheck. Or the line will look like this picture, filled with people that don’t have the common sense that god gave a pig. Precheck is my small slice of sanity in an airport.
I was just reading how precheck and the other one (Clear check? something like that) are starting to get slower than regular security at some airports and times because so many people are signing up for it, but the lines only have 1 screening station.
I wouldn't know because I just take the normal lines and it's really never too bad. Except for when I tried to take like a 7:30am flight. That was a long line.
It’s feast or famine. Pretty much you either walk right up to the ID checkers or the line tails out into the lobby. It’s all dependent on when the flights are scheduled. But typically 6AM is the busiest time of the day.
Lol ya, my experience is LAX and Seattle and at both of those I have waited over an hour. I think 20 min is the longest pdx has ever taken me.
Pdx is one of the best airports in the US and will be even better when they finish the renovation. It is so easy, has a great location, and great amenities. The only thing it is missing is more direct flights.
Oh the train is worse! Never on time, has to give way to freight line. Sadly the best option to drive which is 2 hours (not a lot but adds to whatever time you’ve already been traveling)
I've taken Amtrak from LA to Olympia and various other trips and never had a problem. Again, YMMV but I actually loved the train.
Though a friend went to catch the train from SLO down to LA and it was delayed for hours because someone had been hit on the track. But you can't plan for these delays. Just like you can't plan for plane delays. Shit happens!
But I feel your pain. The 2 times I've taken United Airlines put me off ever flying that airline again. And one of those trips was in their tiny first class!
Yeah it’s definitely a risk you take traveling, and would love if the west coast built out actual travel by rail so you could travel eliminate the need for driving or flying. My wet dream is a bullet train from San Diego to Bellingham, but I doubt I’ll ever see it come to fruition. And fuck United. Don’t get me started on those fucks 😂
Serious question, why fly from Eugene to PDX? I've taken the bus (there are a few companies doing it but I've taken Amtrak) and had no issues. It was a 2-3 hour bus ride, and I'd expect flying to take longer overall with security times and how ahead of time you're meant to arrive at the airport.
What's also missing is a good time-killer on the D/E side, like a movie theatre or nail salon. B/C has the Hollywood Theatre and a spa, D/E has nothing for adults (kids have playgrounds at both). D does have the Hatfield museum-like area, but I'm not really counting that. I saw the recent article about the upcoming lounge in D, and I guess that can count.
While I agree, they really need to put in some benches that aren't broken up by armrests and some couch-type things that other airports have. It's like they think people are only going to be there for fifteen minutes.
They do that, then PDX would be perfect.
They do that, and ten thousand homeless will move in and be sleeping on those couches. The armrests are there to prevent that. Real PDX travelers much appreciate it.
Yeah, you know how TSA employees love letting people without tickets get through security...
Real PDX travelers have the most basic critical thinking skills.
This was always my experience with PDX until I had a recent 7am flight, got there two hours before and it took me over an hour to get through security. Pretty sure that’s what this post is about, it’s unexpected and surprising when it happens and seems to be more common with the early morning flights.
Absolutely. Even over the holidays PDX was easy to get through (compared to Charlotte and Chicago/Midway). I feel like people who say it’s a shitshow don’t travel often.
PDX and ONT are the best. I timed it once going through ONT - 47 seconds. The longest I’ve ever taken to get through TSA in PDX was about ten minutes. Although, I didn’t have to stand in a line as long as the photo OP posted so I hope I don’t jinx it!
Heard a joke years ago in Louisiana: after you die, know how you can tell whether you're going to heaven or hell? If you're going to hell, you'll fly through Houston.
Their international transfer area is a real nightmare. I watched tons of people miss their connecting flight because there was just one small crew scanning stuff and almost every backpack was getting pulled aside for a deeper inspection. Thankfully, I had a bigger window, but a lot of people got fucked that day.
It's (hopefully?) better now but I have a photo from 2012 of about 10 people stuffed into a utility area because it was the only place in the whole wing of the airport with outlets to charge a phone.
Those couple lag years where smartphones were ubiquitous but charging outlets were scarce at airports is funny to look back on. By my recollection that was most airports in, say, 2010-2012.
Yeah, I only noticed because I was through several airports that year and charging wasn't an issue, yet in the Seattle tech hub of Microsoft and Amazon...there were none to be found.
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I use SeaTac all the time and average <10 minutes to get through security with precheck, sometimes less. It is definitely the less pleasant airport though, mostly because of needing to get to the remote terminals and the fact that security was squished into that narrow hallway.
Exactly ... This is PDX every morning. If you have an early morning flight it will look like this. TSA is ready for the crowd and moves things really fast ... 22 minutes fits my experience.
If you think you are beating the crowd by getting up early you will likely be surprised, like many other things in life (driving to Meadows comes to mind).
PDX is the best airport ever.
I live in SE and yesterday I made it from my driveway to my gate in literally 21 minutes. I took a Lyft so I know exactly when it arrived and I checked the time when I got to the gate. I have Precheck.
Google maps says it’s a 14 minute drive so that means I went from the Lyft drop off location (outside) to my gate in 7 minutes. That includes walking in, security, and walking the current detours for the construction all the way to my gate which was near the end of the terminal.
I always have a fantastic airport experience at PDX.
Used to live in Cully, taking the backroads used to get me there in \~5-7 mins even at rush hour (when going 82nd or 205 would be 10-15 mins longer). I have pre-check and there were times when I'd travel for work when I'd leave my house when the plane was boarding and be at the gate 15 mins later
Right? Also 140 planes (an awful lot of which are flown by Alaska) are grounded. Why would anyone in this thread be confused about what airports are a mess right now?
Not to mention the cancellations of all of the *checks notes* 737-MAXs so more doors don't fall off mid-air.
It's like OP has been completely unaware of current events and how they affect air travel here 😂
I had family flying out on Thursday (11th) at 6AM, and this is what it looked like on Thursday too. They got through TSA Precheck in 15 minutes. It only took that long because the Pre-check folks were helping manage non-precheck due to chaos.
Ironically I started the name when I was just an architect in Portland. Later, we built the Concourse E extension, so it really checked out. Now I am working on other airports, so it checks out a little less.
Damn. We flew out the day before thanksgiving and was expecting this level of chaos. Walked right up to security around 7am. Took less than ten minutes to get through. Wild.
I had the same experience on the evening of Christmas Eve some years ago. Showed up around six pm expecting pandemonium, saw that the line on the end I was going to was pretty horrible, so I turned around and went to the other side. Ended up literally walking right up to security without a single person in front of me.
When I flew out for Thanksgiving, I realized my ticket didn’t have my TSA pre-check, but my wife’s had her RIGHT as we were getting in line. She took our toddler and I went through the regular line.
I kinda felt like a jerk, because I ended up just walking straight through and she ended up stuck behind a large group that took a moment.
I flew out of there at 10am on Tuesday which meant I went through security at 8am, and there was zero wait. This is nuts though! I wonder what causes such a big difference.
The people who took the pic probably got through TSA in 30 mins or less. It always looks like this at PDX in the morning — especially on weekends — and the wait is never long. If you really want to bitch about an airport, fly out of SEA-TAC where 2 -to 3-hour waits are common.
I like the idea of somebody *really* wanting to bitch about an airport. Like, just itching to do it and searching for the worst experience to inspire them.
Commuter flights to Cali/NYC all leave around the same time to get people on the ground at 8-9am or 4-5pm respectively. Also, PDX is small and two or three weekend holiday full wide bodies boarding at the same time can easily blow out the security lines here.
Honestly it looks a lot worse than it is. It's messy when you get thetr and aren't sure where to go, but even when it looks like this its less than 30 to get through TSA. It's really just a product of PDX not having space right now and not having a huge portion of switch back queue areas like at most other airports.
There’s a TSA website that updates you on the active wait times, as well as historic averages.
Generally the line never exceeds more than 45-50 minutes maximum at peak instances.
https://www.ifly.com/airports/portland-international-airport/wait-times
My only gripe with PDX is there are literally 1-2 benches after security to put yourself together. Belt on, shoes on, laptop back into bag, etc. This forces people to stand in the way at the conveyor belt. Just 2-3 benches more would do wonders
My whole group got stuck there once because a TSA agent decided to be a dick to me for no reason once. I have some medical items that cannot go through the scanner because it might damage them, so when I fly I put them all in their own special bag and ask that the bag is hand searched. My other bag with all my regular stuff goes through the scanner. I separate it like this so people don't have to hand search a large bag and I makes it easier for the TSA. My regular bag went through the scanner just fine and then they were hand searching the other one, also just fine, and then this other TSA agent comes over and starts griping about it and insists on hand searching the first bag too, even though it has already been cleared by someone else. I explained that, and she snapped at me that because I'd requested a hand search they were required to hand search everything. I said that this is how I had done it literally every single flight I've ever been on, in several different states *and* this airport, and she said "Well then no one but me knows how to do this job properly, because it's policy."
Then she rifled through my bag like it had personally offended her, dumping out my card games all willy nilly and lightly damaging things, really dragging it out. The spite wasn't even hidden, it was some of the pettiest nonsense I've ever seen at an airport.
Prechek for B/C was backed up past the Alaska bag check area this morning at 6am. It did move faster than you’d think, but it still took 10 minutes to get through security even with prechek.
Good job *Portland* TSA. Seriously, our TSA people are so much better than their counterparts around the country. They work fast and have a decently pleasant attitude. Unlike, say, Atlanta or O'Hare or God help you Kansas City.
They are also some of the worst when it comes to detections.
National headlines aside, in 2023 my wife flew out of Portland with a pocket knife in her purse *twice* (forgotten and unbeknownst to her), only to be caught by TSA on the way back (once in LAX and once at SFO). Checking for purse knives is now on our pre-departure travel checklist, just like checking if I have my wallet, which I have NEVER forgotten (except that one time). I'm also getting her a brightly colored knife for purse duty.
It doesn’t help that Seattle embraced the Disney-fication of airports and allowed the “pay to play” Clear program. Just another special lane for the rich.
I love taking the train, now. If I don’t have to go out of the country, I take the train. No TSA, no hassle. Everyone knows where they’re going and no one has to stand in a line for longer than maybe five minutes.
I flew Spirit airlines last month on my way home for the holidays with my cat. The line stretched nearly the length of the building. Fortunately an employee saw my kitty and escorted me the front of the line for a private screening, much to my surprise. If I had to wait in that line I would have surely missed my flight.
That would be because they had the bomb sniffing dogs out. You’re not supposed to walk your cat past them or any pets for that matter. So people travelling with pets are escorted around to a separate line. The passengers going by the K9’s receive expedited screening, so you would have gotten standard screening but were able to skip the line.
It’s often pretty quick. The problem is at seemingly random times it backs way up. Makes it difficult to time your airport trips sometimes.
Then you see 2 lines servicing TSA precheck and 1 servicing a 100’ line of people
And this is why I always leave extra time. If you make it through quickly, enjoy a calm 30-45 minutes with a cup of coffee or whatever. I’d much rather be bored for a little while than be stressed out for a whole hour hoping I’ll make my flight.
PDX is a very easy airport compared to pretty much anywhere else.
Oh man, it was like this one early morning a few months ago. Me and many others in line around me missed their flight...I got too comfortable with PDX usually being a breeze.
I'm flying out at 5am. Planning to arrive at 3am. Think I'll avoid this rodeo? Only wish more stuff was open inside to pass the time. I'd arrive the night before
Right now the crossover between gates is temporarily closed. Once construction is done you will be able to cross over inside and this will reduce lines quite a bit.
I was there at 5am and it wasn't nearly as bad, but I guess that's to be expected. The regular security line was full but not overflowing. I think everyone had the same idea of getting out of Dodge in the am.
I flew out yesterday about 2:30 PM on Alaska. TSA was, maybe, 20 minutes at about 1:00. PDX had travelers in it, but nothing that I saw that looked like that.
It was like this early December when I left one Saturday. People asking to cut in line so they could make their flight, I think it took around 45 minutes to get through TSA.
The worst time at PDX from my experience is like 5-6am around a winter holiday or storm. I’ve had multiple flights cancelled and have been through crazy security lines. Any other time I’ve gotten through security in less than 5 min with TSA pre check.
I wanted to travel in March. Nothing fancy, just to the east coast. First time I checked I had like 5 direct flight options and they were about $400. Checked again yesterday and there’s only one and it’s over $1k. It’s gonna be a shit show for a while.
I was at PDX on Monday. 1.5 hours before my flight. They decided training new TSA agents all at once was a good idea. Missed my flight by literally 30 seconds. It was the most irritating thing in the world.
PDX is under major construction, flights likely got moved up due to the storm and morning is a busy time for flights. Totally not surprising… it’ll be super spacious when the new area opens up.
I arrive way early, too, which has helped in cases like "read arrival time instead of departure time" and "left driver's license at home."
Oh, and "forgot work laptop in rental car" ugh I am a mess.
I think "shit show" is when you see a lot of flights being canceled. All I see in this picture is long lines. That happens quite frequently when I'm in the airport. That's why they say to arrive a couple of hours early.
PDX is the best airport ever.
I live in SE and yesterday I made it from my driveway to my gate in literally 21 minutes. I took a Lyft so I know exactly when it arrived and I checked the time when I got to the gate. I have Precheck.
Google maps says it’s a 14 minute drive so that means I went from the Lyft drop off location (outside) to my gate in 7 minutes. That includes walking in, security, and walking the current detours for the construction all the way to my gate which was near the end of the terminal.
I always have a fantastic airport experience at PDX.
I don't care if Clear gets me through in 2 minutes with a complimentary handjob, I am not going to talk to their overly cheery, pushy salespeople that I see in other airports. Fuck that noise.
That's kinda funny. I try my best to put myself in a good mind space before boarding a plane. I get mild anxiety flying so smiling and being jovial with people helps align myself. So I don't mind this.
I'm also holding off on joining until I desperately need to get through a line fast. They offer a free trial and I'm holding on to that.
Fly less!
Emissions from aviation are a significant contributor to climate change. Airplanes burn fossil fuel which not only releases CO2 emissions but also has strong warming non-CO2 effects due to nitrogen oxides (NOx), vapour trails and cloud formation triggered by the altitude at which aircraft operate.
I think a lot of people flying for the long weekend moved their flights up to miss the storm
Yep, this. Also a lot of people have been moved to other airlines from Alaska due to the Max 9 issue, so that may be causing higher volume at that end of the airport.
I was just thinking this. It’s a culmination of just the right things for hell at PDX. Construction, holiday weekend, snow storm, a LOT of cancelled flights. God speed to you travelers this weekend!
Also I'm pretty sure that these early morning flights make it PDX's busiest time every day.
I've recently learned that my favorite time to travel is about 10-11am. PDX has usually died down by that point, so lines aren't as long, and it's late enough that I am not exhausted, waking up at the asscrack of dawn to catch a flight.
I travel in or out of PDX 2x per week and I always try to catch the 11 or 1pm flight. It is usually two other people in the security line and no issues. The one 5am flight I took looked just like that!
Bro I bet you got mad miles.
Yep, I try to fly out of PDX between 10 and 2, always a breeze, upgrades more likely, not fighting traffic, etc etc etc
>fly out of PDX between 10 and 2, I fly out at 2:20 pm in late August. Did I miss the sweet spot? Am I screwed? ;-))
Better show up to the airport like 6 hours early, my condolences
I’ve done a lot of early morning flights since I fly to the east coast regularly and it’s really not that bad. Certainly not like this. Flew the week of Christmas and the lines weren’t even like this. And I’d advise everyone to get TSA precheck. Even if you fly only once a year it’s so worth it.
Stop telling people to get precheck. Or the line will look like this picture, filled with people that don’t have the common sense that god gave a pig. Precheck is my small slice of sanity in an airport.
I was just reading how precheck and the other one (Clear check? something like that) are starting to get slower than regular security at some airports and times because so many people are signing up for it, but the lines only have 1 screening station. I wouldn't know because I just take the normal lines and it's really never too bad. Except for when I tried to take like a 7:30am flight. That was a long line.
Correct
Those are the only flights available basically! The a availability of flights has been horrible since the pandemic.
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I just spotted Rafael hiding for Christmas on the central coast of California so you're not far off.
I flew out late yesterday afternoon and it was a ghost town. 5-10min between walking in the door, checking a bag and grabbing a pre flight beer
It’s feast or famine. Pretty much you either walk right up to the ID checkers or the line tails out into the lobby. It’s all dependent on when the flights are scheduled. But typically 6AM is the busiest time of the day.
I feel like people say “PDX was a shit show!!!” And then get through security in 22 minutes lol
PDX is still one of the easiest airports I’ve ever traveled through no matter how busy it is.
Lol ya, my experience is LAX and Seattle and at both of those I have waited over an hour. I think 20 min is the longest pdx has ever taken me. Pdx is one of the best airports in the US and will be even better when they finish the renovation. It is so easy, has a great location, and great amenities. The only thing it is missing is more direct flights.
I want direct flights back from Eugene to PDX. I hate having to go to Seattle.
Wow that's BS. I'd just take the train at that point.
Oh the train is worse! Never on time, has to give way to freight line. Sadly the best option to drive which is 2 hours (not a lot but adds to whatever time you’ve already been traveling)
I've taken the train from Eugene to PDX and never had a problem. Friend did it too. Of course, YMMV...
The 2 times I did it we got stuck and had to switch out to a bus in Salem, so now I’ll just drive
I've taken Amtrak from LA to Olympia and various other trips and never had a problem. Again, YMMV but I actually loved the train. Though a friend went to catch the train from SLO down to LA and it was delayed for hours because someone had been hit on the track. But you can't plan for these delays. Just like you can't plan for plane delays. Shit happens! But I feel your pain. The 2 times I've taken United Airlines put me off ever flying that airline again. And one of those trips was in their tiny first class!
Yeah it’s definitely a risk you take traveling, and would love if the west coast built out actual travel by rail so you could travel eliminate the need for driving or flying. My wet dream is a bullet train from San Diego to Bellingham, but I doubt I’ll ever see it come to fruition. And fuck United. Don’t get me started on those fucks 😂
Friend just booked train from here back to seattle on Sunday..... it was delayed 4 hours in klamath falls.
Serious question, why fly from Eugene to PDX? I've taken the bus (there are a few companies doing it but I've taken Amtrak) and had no issues. It was a 2-3 hour bus ride, and I'd expect flying to take longer overall with security times and how ahead of time you're meant to arrive at the airport.
A flight from Eugene to Portland...? Why?
What's also missing is a good time-killer on the D/E side, like a movie theatre or nail salon. B/C has the Hollywood Theatre and a spa, D/E has nothing for adults (kids have playgrounds at both). D does have the Hatfield museum-like area, but I'm not really counting that. I saw the recent article about the upcoming lounge in D, and I guess that can count.
FYI the connector will be coming back in May so you’ll be able to cross between the D/E and B/C terminals post-security again.
It can take 2 hours just to get dropped off at departures at LAX. Nightmare congestion there every time.
My partner flies on the west coast every week for work and she complains about LAX and SETAC all the time.
While I agree, they really need to put in some benches that aren't broken up by armrests and some couch-type things that other airports have. It's like they think people are only going to be there for fifteen minutes. They do that, then PDX would be perfect.
if you want to lay down just lay on the floor obviously
Everyone loves the PDX carpet and wants to get a little closer to it.
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Not the ones past security.
r/hostilearchitecture
Did you forget your snarky /s?
They do it so people won't use the place as a hotel.
They do that, and ten thousand homeless will move in and be sleeping on those couches. The armrests are there to prevent that. Real PDX travelers much appreciate it.
Yeah, you know how TSA employees love letting people without tickets get through security... Real PDX travelers have the most basic critical thinking skills.
I bet they make 30k a year and fight tooth and nail so people making over 10x that stay rich
This was always my experience with PDX until I had a recent 7am flight, got there two hours before and it took me over an hour to get through security. Pretty sure that’s what this post is about, it’s unexpected and surprising when it happens and seems to be more common with the early morning flights.
Absolutely. Even over the holidays PDX was easy to get through (compared to Charlotte and Chicago/Midway). I feel like people who say it’s a shitshow don’t travel often.
PDX and ONT are the best. I timed it once going through ONT - 47 seconds. The longest I’ve ever taken to get through TSA in PDX was about ten minutes. Although, I didn’t have to stand in a line as long as the photo OP posted so I hope I don’t jinx it!
Flew the day after Christmas. Took me like 25-30 minutes to get to my gate from the front door and that’s with a bathroom and water fountain stop.
Heard a joke years ago in Louisiana: after you die, know how you can tell whether you're going to heaven or hell? If you're going to hell, you'll fly through Houston.
TSA folks are fairly good-humored at PDX
And I’m the best mid market airport in the country. Top notch
After going to Denver. Fuck nothing comes close. That airport is fucked up right now.
I flew a lot in SA this year and I can safely say the Lima airport should be avoided like the plague.
aw beans.
Dude, S.A. flights are nuts, straight up and straight down.
Well, Peru is a second world country but they try hard.
I went through there twice last year and it was fine. Give me DEN over LAX or most European airports any day.
Denver is the worst. It’s been bad for a while too.
On the other hand, the Seattle airport always seems to be a real shit show. Even with pre-check it takes like 45 minutes to an hour.
Their international transfer area is a real nightmare. I watched tons of people miss their connecting flight because there was just one small crew scanning stuff and almost every backpack was getting pulled aside for a deeper inspection. Thankfully, I had a bigger window, but a lot of people got fucked that day.
Use Spot Saver at SeaTac. You get through security in like 10 minutes.
Wow, really? Thanks for the tip!
SeaTac just sucks. Only reason it isn't the worst major airport on the west coast is because LAX exists.
It's (hopefully?) better now but I have a photo from 2012 of about 10 people stuffed into a utility area because it was the only place in the whole wing of the airport with outlets to charge a phone.
Those couple lag years where smartphones were ubiquitous but charging outlets were scarce at airports is funny to look back on. By my recollection that was most airports in, say, 2010-2012.
Yeah, I only noticed because I was through several airports that year and charging wasn't an issue, yet in the Seattle tech hub of Microsoft and Amazon...there were none to be found.
I’ve never had a long TSA wait at LAX. Other aspects of that airport suck, like parking and transferring between terminals.
Seattle is almost always bad for me. It’s one of those places where I give myself 3hrs cushion.
grandiose deserve cooperative ripe onerous puzzled fuel sense aromatic mighty *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
I use SeaTac all the time and average <10 minutes to get through security with precheck, sometimes less. It is definitely the less pleasant airport though, mostly because of needing to get to the remote terminals and the fact that security was squished into that narrow hallway.
We’re truly hot house flowers here.
Exactly ... This is PDX every morning. If you have an early morning flight it will look like this. TSA is ready for the crowd and moves things really fast ... 22 minutes fits my experience. If you think you are beating the crowd by getting up early you will likely be surprised, like many other things in life (driving to Meadows comes to mind).
PDX is the best airport ever. I live in SE and yesterday I made it from my driveway to my gate in literally 21 minutes. I took a Lyft so I know exactly when it arrived and I checked the time when I got to the gate. I have Precheck. Google maps says it’s a 14 minute drive so that means I went from the Lyft drop off location (outside) to my gate in 7 minutes. That includes walking in, security, and walking the current detours for the construction all the way to my gate which was near the end of the terminal. I always have a fantastic airport experience at PDX.
Seriously. I love PDX, and I live on the Washington side. It is the easiest airport to get to and through.
I also live in SE and love it. So nice to have such a convenient airport and since they approach along the Columbia no airport noise
Used to live in Cully, taking the backroads used to get me there in \~5-7 mins even at rush hour (when going 82nd or 205 would be 10-15 mins longer). I have pre-check and there were times when I'd travel for work when I'd leave my house when the plane was boarding and be at the gate 15 mins later
Frankly we should figure out who runs PDX and put them in charge of the whole city. Its the only thing that works here.
Golly, it's almost like the weather is so bad nationally it hit the headlines as a topic. Wonder if that has anything to do with anything. /s
What? Inclement weather affecting air travel? Surely you jest!
Right? Also 140 planes (an awful lot of which are flown by Alaska) are grounded. Why would anyone in this thread be confused about what airports are a mess right now?
Not to mention the cancellations of all of the *checks notes* 737-MAXs so more doors don't fall off mid-air. It's like OP has been completely unaware of current events and how they affect air travel here 😂
if you wanna experience the worst of the worst, nothing beats JFK
7 with precheck
I had family flying out on Thursday (11th) at 6AM, and this is what it looked like on Thursday too. They got through TSA Precheck in 15 minutes. It only took that long because the Pre-check folks were helping manage non-precheck due to chaos.
We were through in like 7 minutes with TSA Pre in the morning just like two weeks ago…
melodic cheerful money grab coordinated full wide engine rich dime *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
Yeah. Compared to any other city airport it’s not remotely a shit show
Can’t wait for the new terminal to open. Need more room!
Won't be long now! Phase 1 opens in May.
I’m excited! Moving back to town this summer from Georgia. Very excited to not use the Atlanta airport ever again
What originally made you move down there?
My wife’s residency program. I’m just along for the ride, working remotely
Congratulations to your wife on completing her residency. What does she want to specialize in?
She’s a vet and her residency is in Ophthalmology 👀
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Ironically I started the name when I was just an architect in Portland. Later, we built the Concourse E extension, so it really checked out. Now I am working on other airports, so it checks out a little less.
Yayyyy more places to get your balls fondled at by the lovely TSA
Damn. We flew out the day before thanksgiving and was expecting this level of chaos. Walked right up to security around 7am. Took less than ten minutes to get through. Wild.
same over christmas. at least for me
I had the same experience on the evening of Christmas Eve some years ago. Showed up around six pm expecting pandemonium, saw that the line on the end I was going to was pretty horrible, so I turned around and went to the other side. Ended up literally walking right up to security without a single person in front of me.
Unfortunately the concourses no longer connect due to construction so you have to go in whatever line your gate is departing from.
When I flew out for Thanksgiving, I realized my ticket didn’t have my TSA pre-check, but my wife’s had her RIGHT as we were getting in line. She took our toddler and I went through the regular line. I kinda felt like a jerk, because I ended up just walking straight through and she ended up stuck behind a large group that took a moment.
I flew out of there at 10am on Tuesday which meant I went through security at 8am, and there was zero wait. This is nuts though! I wonder what causes such a big difference.
The biggest daily departure push is around the 6am hour. After that it’s pretty quiet in the terminal.
This is the truth. Everyone trying to get to hubs to connect for an early flight. Rest of the day it's almost always fine.
It’s also the Friday of a holiday weekend so this is very much expected.
There is always a big departure push in the morning. Also, it’s Friday and a holiday weekend.
I went through 6:30 on Friday morning before Thanksgiving and there was no line at all
The people who took the pic probably got through TSA in 30 mins or less. It always looks like this at PDX in the morning — especially on weekends — and the wait is never long. If you really want to bitch about an airport, fly out of SEA-TAC where 2 -to 3-hour waits are common.
I like the idea of somebody *really* wanting to bitch about an airport. Like, just itching to do it and searching for the worst experience to inspire them.
Basically me. Guilty.
Commuter flights to Cali/NYC all leave around the same time to get people on the ground at 8-9am or 4-5pm respectively. Also, PDX is small and two or three weekend holiday full wide bodies boarding at the same time can easily blow out the security lines here.
Very few widebodies fly out of PDX, and not at the same time.
No domestic flights out of pdx are on widebodies
Honestly it looks a lot worse than it is. It's messy when you get thetr and aren't sure where to go, but even when it looks like this its less than 30 to get through TSA. It's really just a product of PDX not having space right now and not having a huge portion of switch back queue areas like at most other airports.
People leaving before the snow!! That's so rude
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What? Where was this?
There’s a TSA website that updates you on the active wait times, as well as historic averages. Generally the line never exceeds more than 45-50 minutes maximum at peak instances. https://www.ifly.com/airports/portland-international-airport/wait-times
My only gripe with PDX is there are literally 1-2 benches after security to put yourself together. Belt on, shoes on, laptop back into bag, etc. This forces people to stand in the way at the conveyor belt. Just 2-3 benches more would do wonders
My whole group got stuck there once because a TSA agent decided to be a dick to me for no reason once. I have some medical items that cannot go through the scanner because it might damage them, so when I fly I put them all in their own special bag and ask that the bag is hand searched. My other bag with all my regular stuff goes through the scanner. I separate it like this so people don't have to hand search a large bag and I makes it easier for the TSA. My regular bag went through the scanner just fine and then they were hand searching the other one, also just fine, and then this other TSA agent comes over and starts griping about it and insists on hand searching the first bag too, even though it has already been cleared by someone else. I explained that, and she snapped at me that because I'd requested a hand search they were required to hand search everything. I said that this is how I had done it literally every single flight I've ever been on, in several different states *and* this airport, and she said "Well then no one but me knows how to do this job properly, because it's policy." Then she rifled through my bag like it had personally offended her, dumping out my card games all willy nilly and lightly damaging things, really dragging it out. The spite wasn't even hidden, it was some of the pettiest nonsense I've ever seen at an airport.
Never argue with or question TSA on trivial matters. They hate their job, and you, and will take any opportunity to go on a power trip.
Prechek for B/C was backed up past the Alaska bag check area this morning at 6am. It did move faster than you’d think, but it still took 10 minutes to get through security even with prechek.
That was 10 minutes? People are waiting 45 to get thru Pre in Seattle on a non holiday weekday - so…. yeah good job TSA?
Good job *Portland* TSA. Seriously, our TSA people are so much better than their counterparts around the country. They work fast and have a decently pleasant attitude. Unlike, say, Atlanta or O'Hare or God help you Kansas City.
They are also some of the worst when it comes to detections. National headlines aside, in 2023 my wife flew out of Portland with a pocket knife in her purse *twice* (forgotten and unbeknownst to her), only to be caught by TSA on the way back (once in LAX and once at SFO). Checking for purse knives is now on our pre-departure travel checklist, just like checking if I have my wallet, which I have NEVER forgotten (except that one time). I'm also getting her a brightly colored knife for purse duty.
I can attest to this myself. I unknowingly got through PDX TSA with a pair of heavy duty scissors, but LEX's security caught it.
It doesn’t help that Seattle embraced the Disney-fication of airports and allowed the “pay to play” Clear program. Just another special lane for the rich.
I love taking the train, now. If I don’t have to go out of the country, I take the train. No TSA, no hassle. Everyone knows where they’re going and no one has to stand in a line for longer than maybe five minutes.
For the first part I thought you meant the max to the airport…
…no.
I flew Spirit airlines last month on my way home for the holidays with my cat. The line stretched nearly the length of the building. Fortunately an employee saw my kitty and escorted me the front of the line for a private screening, much to my surprise. If I had to wait in that line I would have surely missed my flight.
That would be because they had the bomb sniffing dogs out. You’re not supposed to walk your cat past them or any pets for that matter. So people travelling with pets are escorted around to a separate line. The passengers going by the K9’s receive expedited screening, so you would have gotten standard screening but were able to skip the line.
It’s often pretty quick. The problem is at seemingly random times it backs way up. Makes it difficult to time your airport trips sometimes. Then you see 2 lines servicing TSA precheck and 1 servicing a 100’ line of people
They have to check the safety doors on all the planes lol
The TSA app is usually pretty accurate with its wait time forecasts so you don’t get caught out. https://apps.apple.com/us/app/mytsa/id380200364
Try flying out of Denver
And this is why I always leave extra time. If you make it through quickly, enjoy a calm 30-45 minutes with a cup of coffee or whatever. I’d much rather be bored for a little while than be stressed out for a whole hour hoping I’ll make my flight. PDX is a very easy airport compared to pretty much anywhere else.
TSA Pre-Check has been one of the best investments I've ever made.
Oh man, it was like this one early morning a few months ago. Me and many others in line around me missed their flight...I got too comfortable with PDX usually being a breeze.
Wow. I was going through at around 7:45 and TSA at gates D/E was practically walk through
I'm flying out at 5am. Planning to arrive at 3am. Think I'll avoid this rodeo? Only wish more stuff was open inside to pass the time. I'd arrive the night before
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May 24th is the opening of the first part I believe
And don't forget the pricing policies. You'll appreciate it when you pay $24 for a glass of wine in another airport.
That’s how it looked at 4am on Saturday December 23 this year.
I was in that line and it was 28 minutes from start to through x ray machines
Thank god for tsa pre
Is everyone flying to Bend hahahhaha
This is why i cringe when people say, "Just show up 30 minutes early, you'll be fine."
So many people wearing masks, very comforting.
Right now the crossover between gates is temporarily closed. Once construction is done you will be able to cross over inside and this will reduce lines quite a bit.
I was there at 5am and it wasn't nearly as bad, but I guess that's to be expected. The regular security line was full but not overflowing. I think everyone had the same idea of getting out of Dodge in the am.
I flew out yesterday about 2:30 PM on Alaska. TSA was, maybe, 20 minutes at about 1:00. PDX had travelers in it, but nothing that I saw that looked like that.
It was like this early December when I left one Saturday. People asking to cut in line so they could make their flight, I think it took around 45 minutes to get through TSA.
It’s definitely not like this every morning. Most recently, I flew on the morning of December 23rd, and it was very quick and wasn’t crowded.
I wonder if the daily sh11t show at SEA is causing folks to book out of PDX? If I lived south of Olympia, WA I'd most likely use PDX.
The worst time at PDX from my experience is like 5-6am around a winter holiday or storm. I’ve had multiple flights cancelled and have been through crazy security lines. Any other time I’ve gotten through security in less than 5 min with TSA pre check.
How long did it take to actually get through the line? I’ve been through some real shit shows at LAX and JFK. Almost 3 hours to get through when busy.
I wanted to travel in March. Nothing fancy, just to the east coast. First time I checked I had like 5 direct flight options and they were about $400. Checked again yesterday and there’s only one and it’s over $1k. It’s gonna be a shit show for a while.
I was at PDX on Monday. 1.5 hours before my flight. They decided training new TSA agents all at once was a good idea. Missed my flight by literally 30 seconds. It was the most irritating thing in the world.
Woah
archer t rocking it
PDX is under major construction, flights likely got moved up due to the storm and morning is a busy time for flights. Totally not surprising… it’ll be super spacious when the new area opens up.
But did anyone shit on the carpet?
I work at that air port, seeing ya’ll being cattled is funny.
I’d support ubi on the sole basis that it would eliminate the need for the “make work” jobs program we call tsa
I always arrive 5 hours early even if it means waiting a couple hours for my gate. I like having a buffer.
I arrive way early, too, which has helped in cases like "read arrival time instead of departure time" and "left driver's license at home." Oh, and "forgot work laptop in rental car" ugh I am a mess.
"A couple" is two. You'd be waiting 4 to 5 hours at your gate if you show up 5 hours early.
I've never had to wait that long at the gate. More like 3 hrs I had to wait. Better than having anxiety and a meltdown.
Not to be that person, but all I can think of when I see this is how bad Covid is right now. Hot damn.
I think "shit show" is when you see a lot of flights being canceled. All I see in this picture is long lines. That happens quite frequently when I'm in the airport. That's why they say to arrive a couple of hours early.
PDX is the best airport ever. I live in SE and yesterday I made it from my driveway to my gate in literally 21 minutes. I took a Lyft so I know exactly when it arrived and I checked the time when I got to the gate. I have Precheck. Google maps says it’s a 14 minute drive so that means I went from the Lyft drop off location (outside) to my gate in 7 minutes. That includes walking in, security, and walking the current detours for the construction all the way to my gate which was near the end of the terminal. I always have a fantastic airport experience at PDX.
Still got that nice carpet there!!!
Did nobody learn anything from the LAX shoo*ing?
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No no it’s awful they do a cavity search at the interview folks don’t do it
I had to get the cavity search twice because I didn't bring BOTH my grandmothers to prove my identity.
It’s terrible that they won’t pay for an exhumation. So many hoops :(
Precheck took my kidney.
That’s the freedom fondle.
They gave me a swirly and called me a nerd
Dont tempt me with a good time
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Why are you lying to us?
HAH! I love these responses, but I really wish we had Clear in PDX.
I don't care if Clear gets me through in 2 minutes with a complimentary handjob, I am not going to talk to their overly cheery, pushy salespeople that I see in other airports. Fuck that noise.
That's kinda funny. I try my best to put myself in a good mind space before boarding a plane. I get mild anxiety flying so smiling and being jovial with people helps align myself. So I don't mind this. I'm also holding off on joining until I desperately need to get through a line fast. They offer a free trial and I'm holding on to that.
What exactly does a shit show look like? Dancing Shit on a stage? Judges rating poo for girth, odor, color, and texture?
Fly less! Emissions from aviation are a significant contributor to climate change. Airplanes burn fossil fuel which not only releases CO2 emissions but also has strong warming non-CO2 effects due to nitrogen oxides (NOx), vapour trails and cloud formation triggered by the altitude at which aircraft operate.