Port of Portland

[May 5th, 2004] If you've ever rushed to catch a plane and been delayed by the security line at Portland International Airport, you may have been too rattled to notice the roguish discrimination practiced by the Port of Portland.

The airport is a public facility built with public money. The security checkpoint is paid for and manned by the federal Transportation Security Administration. Public facilities and bodies are supposed to provide equal service to all, regardless of race, sex or religion.

And yet, if you're not a first-class passenger or a frequent flier, you are a second-class citizen at PDX, subject to standing in long lines while others breeze through a special checkpoint. That's right, at airport security gates, there's an express lane for those holding first- or business-class tickets or a card showing membership. (Airport employees and disabled travelers also get to use the expedited service, which seems fair.)

Airport spokesman Steve Johnson says the preferential treatment began after 9/11, when lines were excruciatingly slow and airlines feared a loss of business. "They came to us with a proposal, and we accepted," Johnson says.

Johnson concedes that the airport and security apparatus are publicly funded but notes that gates, concourses and other parts of the airport are paid for by the airlines.

That shouldn't make it OK to give their best customers special rights.

Using the port's logic, Phil Knight could reserve the best seat on the Blue Line out of Beaverton, because Nike, as one of the region's largest employers, kicks in more payroll taxes to keep TriMet trains running than do most other businesses. Developer Pete Mark could demand extra time at City Council hearings, since he ponies up a heftier business income tax.

Johnson adds that, of the 12 million passengers who have flown in and out the airport since the signs went up, only eight have complained. Make that nine.