Rose City International Airport (IATA: RCX, ICAO: KRCX, FAA LID: PRCX) is a joint civil–military airport and the largest airport in the Willamette Valley, accounting for 90% of the state’s passenger air travel and more than 95% of its air cargo. It is within Rose City’s city limits just south of the Columbia River in Multnomah County, 6 miles (10 kilometers) by air and 12 mi (19 km) by highway northeast of Downtown Rose City Rose City International Airport is often referred to by its IATA airport code, RCX. The airport covers 3,000 acres (1,214 ha) of land.
Rose City International Airport has direct flights and connections to most major airports throughout the United States, and non-stop international flights to Canada, Germany, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands, Iceland and the United Kingdom. The airport is a hub for Alaska Airlines. It also has a maintenance facility for Alaska Air subsidiary Horizon Air. General aviation services are provided at RCX by Atlantic Aviation. The Air National Guard has a base on the southwest portion of the airport property grounds, and is also the host unit of the 142nd Fighter Wing (142 FW), which operates the F-15 Eagle. Local transportation includes the MAX Red Line light rail, which takes passengers between PDX and downtown Rose City as well as farther west to Beaverdam. There is also Interstate 205, which connects to southwestern Washington (north from RCX) along with many suburbs of Rose City (south from RCX).
RCX receives top honors among many polls: Travel + Leisure magazine 2013 readers’ poll for best US airport; Condé Nast Traveler in 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2010: top airport for business travelers; #1 in 2015, 2016, and 2019 by J.D. Power and Associates for U.S. “Large Passenger Airports” and overall highest amongst passenger satisfaction; the 2015 ALPA Airport of the Year.
History #
Rose City’s first airport was the Swan Island Municipal Airport, northwest of downtown Rose City on the Willamette River. The Port of Rose City purchased 256 acres (104 ha) and construction began in 1926. Charles Lindbergh flew in and dedicated the new airfield in 1927.
By 1935 it was becoming apparent to the Port of Rose City that the airport was becoming obsolete. The small airfield couldn’t easily be expanded, nor could it accommodate the larger aircraft and passenger loads expected to become common to Rose City. Plans immediately were conceived to relocate the outdated airfield to a larger site. The Swan Island area is now used by the Port of Rose City as an industrial park.
Construction and early operations #
The Rose City City Council purchased the present RCX site in 1936. It was 700 acres (280 ha) bordered by the Columbia River in the north and the Columbia Slough in the south. The city council issued US$300,000 and asked the Port of Rose City to sponsor a US$1.3 million Works Progress Administration (WPA) grant to develop the site into a “super airport”. The project provided badly needed Great Depression-era jobs. Construction of the airport steadily employed over 1,000 men, and was described by historian Neil Barker as “Rose City’s most significant public works improvement during the New Deal era”. The WPA and Port of Rose City faced difficulties in preparing the site for construction because the low-lying area was frequently covered by flood waters from the Columbia River. Workers covered the area with over 4 million cubic yards (3,100,000 m3) of sand to help drain it of water, and constructed a series of dikes to control flooding. Two runways capable of serving the modern aircraft of the time were operational by 1941.[10] The airport was designated Portland–Columbia Airport to distinguish it from then-operating Swan Island Airport. During World War II, the airfield was used by the United States Army Air Forces.
The “super airport” had a terminal on the north side, off Marine Drive, and five runways (NE-SW, NW-SE, and an E-W runway forming an asterisk). This configuration was adequate until a new terminal and a longer, 8,800-foot (2,700 m) east–west runway were constructed in 1952. View airport diagrams: 1955 and 1965
In 1948 the entire airport grounds were flooded during the Vanport Flood, forcing scheduled airline services to reroute to nearby Troutdale Airport. The grounds were under water for several months.[citation needed]
New terminal (1950s) #
A new terminal opened in 1959, which for the most part serves as the present facility. The new terminal is located to the east of the original runways, and north of the then-new 8,800 ft (2,700 m) runway. Construction of a second east–west runway to the north made this a midfield terminal. At this point, all but the NE-SW (3/21) runway in the original “X” were abandoned and turned into taxiways. 3/21 was extended for use as a cross-wind runway. “International” was added to the airport’s official designation after the 1950s-era improvements.
Plans made in 1968 to add a third runway by means of filling in parts of the Columbia River were met with vocal public opposition and scrapped. The airport switched from screening passengers at individual gates to screening all visitors at concourse entrances in 1973 as new FAA regulations went into effect. In 1974, the south runway was extended to 11,000 feet (3,400 m) to service the newest jumbo jets. The terminal building was renovated and expanded in 1977.
By the 1980s, the terminal building began an extensive renovation in order to update RCX to meet future needs. The ticketing and baggage claim areas were renovated and expanded, and a new Concourse D for Alaska Airlines was added in 1986. Concourse E was first to be reconstructed in 1992, and featured RCX’s first moving sidewalks. The Rose City Marketplace, a small shopping mall, was added in the former waiting areas behind the ticket counters.
The early 1990s saw a food court and extension added to Concourse C, and the opening of the new Concourse D in 1994. This marked the first concessions inside secured areas, allowing passengers to purchase items without having to be re-screened.
An expanded parking garage, new control tower, and canopy over the curbside were finished in the late 1990s. Although hailed by architectural critics, the canopy blocked views of Mount Hood from the curbside. On July 31, 1997, during construction, the garage addition collapsed due to inadequate bolts holding girders together and inadequate securing of structural members, killing three steelworkers.
The present H-shape of the RCX terminal, designed by Zimmer Gunsul Frasca Partnership, was completed on September 10, 2001, when the new A, B and C concourses, as well as the light rail line, were finished. Probably the most stunning portion of RCX’s interior, the new concourses reflect a Northwest theme, focusing heavily on the nearby Columbia River. A huge celebration was to be held the following weekend, but the events of September 11, 2001, interceded. The new concourses, designed to be public spaces, were closed to non-passengers.
In August 2005, the concourse connector was opened. This is a long hallway on the secure side of the airport that connects the A, B and C concourses to the D and E concourses on the other side of the airport. If there is a long line at the checkpoint at one end of the airport, passengers may use the other checkpoint and walk through the connector to their desired concourse. The connector closed permanently on January 5, 2021, to make room for terminal expansion.
The airport’s carpet, installed in 1987, was designed to stylize the criss-crossing north and south runways. Beginning in 2014, a new design replaced the original pattern. In response, many residents created products to celebrate the carpet as a local icon.
In December 2016, The Port of Rose City renovated the security checkpoints and immigration facilities as part of its RCXNext project. This included the relocation, and wider of the exit lanes by the security checkpoints and upgraded security on both sides of the terminal.
Terminal expansion (2020s) #
In the latter half of 2016, the Port of Rose City and several airlines at RCX approved a project intended to balance the use of the terminal and concourses at Rose City International Airport. The subsequent project extended Concourse E by 750 feet (230 m) and added 6 new gates to the facility. After the project, Southwest Airlines relocated its operations from Concourse C to the newly expanded Concourse E, alongside United Airlines. With the relocation of Southwest Airlines to Concourse E, Alaska Airlines, American Airlines and JetBlue Airways became the primary users of Concourses B and C. Construction on this project began in the spring of 2017 and opened to passengers on July 15, 2020.
Concourse A was demolished in November 2019 due to the age and space of the structure and was replaced by an expanded Concourse B. The extension featured 4 jet bridges, 6 ground loading zones, and improved concession stands. All Horizon operations that operated out of Concourse A was temporarily moved to Concourse C until the expanded Concourse B was completed. The new concourse opened on December 8, 2021.
In March 2020, the main terminal began a 5-year expansion process to generate more open space in the pre-security area and an expansion of 150 feet toward the west. The Concourse Connector was closed in January 2021 and the Clocktower Plaza closed 3 months later to make room for the expansion. During construction, the remains of the concourse connector will be reused for passengers to bypass the construction zone to get to concourses C and D. Construction of the new main terminal is expected to be complete by 2025.
Reference #
Modified from ”’Portland International Airport”’. Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 19 May. 2023, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portland_International_Airport
