Travelers Staying Away From PDX as the Corornavirus Takes Hold in Oregon

Parking transactions are way down and Delta has suspended its nonstop flight to Tokyo until June 1.

Portland International Airport on March 8, 2020. (Justin Katigbak)
By Nigel Jaquiss

With many businesses eliminating non-essential travel and vacationers delaying their trips amid a coronavirus pandemic, activity at Portland International Airport is taking a hit.

The Oregonian reported today that Dan Pippenger, the chief operations officer of the Port of Portland, said at this morning's port commission meeting that traffic is down 10 percent.

A Port spokeswoman says that's an unofficial number.

"We know our passenger count is down, we just don't have the real-time specifics that our airline partners and/or TSA and CBP partners would have as the data relates to their operations," Port of Portland spokeswoman Kama Simonds says in an email.

Simonds says one indication of airport activity, however, is the number of people using PDX parking lots and garages.

Those transactions have dropped 14 percent over the past week.

Meanwhile, Delta Airlines, which operates the airport's only non-stop flight to Tokyo, has suspended that service until June 1.

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