iBlueYonder has just announced a new update for their KPDX scenery for MSFS. Serving the metropolitan area of Portland, Portland Intl Airport has over 16,000,000 passenger operations and 190,000 aircraft movements per year.

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Opened in 1936 as a “super airport”, it was a part of the New Deal, and was described as "Portland's most significant public works improvement during the New Deal era". It had five runways, and the terminal was on the northern side of the airfield. In 1952, a new longer runway was built, along with the new terminal.

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The first international non-stop flight from Portland was operated by Western, on Boeing 720B to Vancouver. By 1974, the airport was served by all major US domestic carriers: Braniff, Cascade, Continental, Eastern, Hughes Airwest, Northwest Orient, Pan Am, United and Western. The most popular route was to Seattle, with seven airlines flying with planes as big as Boeing 747-200. During the same year, the south runway was extended to 11,000ft and the terminal building was renovated and expanded a few years later.

During the 80s, it was Delta’s hub for flights to Asia, as it lacked aircraft that could fly non-stop from Atlanta. In 1995, the carrier offered flights to Tokyo, Seoul, Nagoya, Taipei, and Bangkok. Unfortunately, due to other airlines introducing flights to Asia, Delta closed the hub in PDX in 2001. A couple of years later though, Northwest Airlines introduced nonstop flights from Portland to their hub - Tokyo Narita. Instead of opening more domestic flights like Delta did, NWA used code-share agreements with other airlines to funnel passengers to Portland.

In March 2020, the main terminal began the 5-year long expansion process. The construction of the main terminal was estimated to be finished by May 2024, but due to construction incidents, it was delayed to August 2024.

Today, PDX is served by 22 airlines to more than 80 destinations in North America and Europe and is a hub for Alaska Airlines. It is also a big cargo hub, as it receives flights from 13 cargo airlines, mostly in the USA.

iBlueYonder’s rendition of KPDX will feature the new main terminal with a modelled interior, Concourses B, C and D with interior, and the new Concourse E, new toll plaza, FAA Administration building, custom animated jetways, new ground support equipment, and new animated objects and people.

Be sure to stay tuned to Threshold to stay up to date on this and other flight simulation products!

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