Sunday Was the Busiest Day at Portland International Airport Since the Pandemic Began

Four of the six busiest days at the airport since March 23, when the pandemic descended, occurred over the past week.

Travelers in Portland International Airport on March 1, 2020. (Justin Katigbak)
By Aaron Mesh

Amid several troubling signs for the next stage of the COVID-19 pandemic—a sluggish vaccine rollout, a more transmissible mutation of the virus—one indicator is especially worrying: Many Oregonians did not heed pleas to stay home for the holidays.

Sunday, Dec. 27, was the busiest day at Portland International Airport since Gov. Kate Brown shuttered Oregon in March. At least 26,468 passengers traveled through the airport on that day, the last of the Christmas holiday weekend, according to preliminary figures from the Port of Portland.

Not only that: Four of the six busiest days at the airport since March 23, when the pandemic descended, occurred over the past week. Dec. 23 was the second-most crowded day at PDX; Dec. 26 and 28 weren't far behind.

The other two days landing in the top six both fell in October, about two weeks before the start of a second wave of COVID-19 cases that would fill Oregon's intensive care beds nearly to capacity.

Oregon has largely been spared the worst effects of the autumn surge. But the recent spike in travel elevates risk for a state where COVID's impact has been less than in many states, although many states saw increased Thanksgiving travel without elevated rates of infection. 

The large holiday increase in PDX traffic fits a national pattern: Sunday saw 1.3 million people pass through Transportation Security Administration screenings nationwide.

On Wednesday, Oregon reported 1,052 new cases and 19 more deaths.

Here are the six busiest days at Portland International Airport since March 23:

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