Portland International Airport (KPDX/PDX)
Portland, United States
Portland Airline Crew Layover Guide
Reviewed by Captain AL
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The PDX crew card
| Fastest into town | MAX Red Line from the station at the south end of the terminal: about 40 minutes to downtown Portland for USD 2.80, with trains every 15 minutes or less most of the day and every 30 minutes early in the morning and late at night |
|---|---|
| First and last | First train out of PDX is 4:59 a.m. on weekdays and 4:56 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday; the last leaves at 12:27 a.m. every day. After that the 292-Red Bus runs from the airport at 1:00 a.m., 1:30 a.m., and 2:00 a.m. |
| Payments | Tap a contactless credit or debit card or your phone on the green reader on the platform before you board; no Hop card is needed for the adult fare. The adult fare is USD 2.80 and you never pay more than USD 5.60 in a day. A physical Hop card costs USD 3 and is only required for the reduced fare |
| Tap water | Safe to drink, with a standing note that people with severely weakened immune systems should ask their own doctor first |
| Emergency | 911 (City of Portland, Multnomah County, Port of Portland Police, and PDX Airport numbers) · non-emergency 503-460-4747 |
| Solo & at night | The terminal lobby is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week and the D/E security checkpoint never closes. Taxis and rideshare both meet passengers on Level 1 of the Short-Term Parking garage at the Transportation Plaza |
| Crew knows | Two adult taps of USD 2.80 reach the USD 5.60 daily cap, and the day you earn that way runs until 3 a.m. The 292-Red Bus back to PDX leaves at 1:00 a.m., 1:30 a.m., and 2:00 a.m., which all fall inside that same paid day, so the night ride back to the airport costs you nothing on top. |
| Crew deals | Verified car rental and hotel rates for airline staff: on this page, right below this guide. |
airlinecrewdiscount.net · PDX crew card · Checked Sep 2026 · Next check Oct 2026 · Screenshot this card for offline
Every number on this page comes from an official source. Where no official source gives a number, we say so instead of guessing.
Getting from Portland International Airport into downtown Portland: the MAX Red Line, the night bus, or a taxi?
One line does the work. The MAX Red Line station sits at the south end of the terminal, runs one seat into downtown Portland, and costs the same flat fare as any other TriMet trip. A three-trip night bus covers the hours after the last train, and taxis and rideshare share one pickup point in the parking garage. On the 292 Red Bus, the eastbound stop at SW Alder and 10th is closed. Use the temporary stop at Yamhill and 10th, marked on the lamp post.
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| Mode | Time | Cost | Good to know |
|---|---|---|---|
| Train (MAX Red Line) | about 40 minutes to downtown Portland every 15 minutes or less most of the day, every day |
USD 2.80 for adults 18 to 64, USD 1.40 for Honored Citizens and USD 1.40 for youth | The station is at the south end of the terminal building and can be reached from the ticket lobby level or the baggage claim level. The line runs from the airport through E/NE Portland and Portland City Center on to Beaverton and Hillsboro, so every trip passes the downtown stations. Outside the middle of the day the service is half-hourly: before about 8 a.m. and after about 10 p.m. on weekdays, and before about 9:30 a.m. and after about 9 p.m. at weekends. On weekdays the last three departures of the night terminate at Willow Creek/SW 185th Ave, and at weekends the last two do. Neither affects a downtown run, because every trip from PDX serves the city centre stations. |
| Night bus (292-Red Bus) | the 1:00 a.m. trip is timetabled into SW 5th and Morrison in the city center at 2:04 a.m. three trips a night, leaving the airport at 1:00 a.m., 1:30 a.m., and 2:00 a.m., the same times every day of the week |
the same TriMet fare, USD 2.80 for adults 18 to 64 | This is the bus that replaces the Red Line for the last trips of the service day, running from Portland International Airport to Goose Hollow/SW Jefferson by way of Gateway, the Rose Quarter, and downtown. It picks up at the Arrivals stop. The 2:00 a.m. departure is the last public transport out of PDX until the morning trains. |
| Taxi | no fixed or city-set fare. Portland City Code requires each taxi company to set its own rates and to make them clear to you before you accept the ride, so ask the price at the pillar | Taxis now meet passengers inside Level 1 of the Short-Term Parking garage rather than on the main roadway. Follow signs to the Transportation Plaza and find the taxi pillar in the garage. The airport lists four companies: Broadway Cab 503-333-3333, Flat Cab 503-970-0033, PDX Yellow Cab 503-841-6328, and Radio Cab 503-227-1212. | |
| Rideshare (Uber, Lyft, Wingz) | app-priced; the airport publishes no rate | Uber and Lyft also connect with passengers inside Level 1 of the Short-Term Parking garage rather than on the main roadway. The app and the airport signs both point to the Transportation Plaza, where the garage columns are labeled by service provider. To request a wheelchair accessible taxi, the airport gives PDX WAV on 503-865-4WAV (503-865-4928), 24 hours a day, seven days a week; you can also request one through your rideshare app. |
Best Areas for Crew Stays in Portland, from downtown and the Pearl District out to Hawthorne and Nob Hill
Downtown and Pioneer Courthouse Square: The compact core the Red Line runs straight through, with the square, the bookshops, and the river walk all within a few blocks of the platform.
The Pearl District: Old warehouses turned galleries, coffee, and dinner tables, a short walk north of the downtown stations and the easiest evening on foot.
Hollywood and Northeast Portland: A Red Line stop of its own between the airport and the center, useful when the window is short and you want a neighborhood rather than the core.
Hawthorne and Southeast Portland: The record shops, food carts, and long low-rise commercial streets across the river, a bus or a walk on from downtown and worth a longer window.
Nob Hill and Northwest 23rd: A quieter shopping and eating street on the west side, close enough to downtown to fold into the same trip.
What to Do on a Layover in Portland, from a short sit in the terminal to a full day across the river
Under 5 hours: Stay in the terminal. The airport Wi-Fi is free and the lobby never closes, and a downtown round trip plus a second pass through screening does not sit comfortably inside a short window.
5 to 9 hours: One clean move works: the Red Line to a single downtown stop, the core and the river on foot, and back on the same line. Fix your return train in your head before you leave the platform.
9 hours plus: A real city run is realistic: downtown, one neighborhood beyond it such as the Pearl or Hawthorne, and a proper meal, with the last train and the night bus behind you if the evening runs long.
Crew Tips for Portland and PDX Airport: the flat fare and its daily cap, the night bus, and getting back through security
Paying for transit: You do not need to buy a pass in advance. Tap a contactless credit or debit card or your phone on the green reader every time you ride and TriMet caps you automatically: an adult never pays more than USD 5.60 in a day or USD 100 in a calendar month, and a reduced-fare Hop card caps at USD 2.80 a day and USD 28 a calendar month. A day you have earned that way runs until 3 a.m. A single adult 2.5 hour ticket is USD 2.80. No Hop card is needed for the adult fare; a physical card costs USD 3 and is only required for the reduced fare. On MAX you tap the reader at the station before boarding rather than on the train, and your tap is your proof of payment. Paying cash on a bus, tell the driver whether you want a 2.5 hour or a 1-day ticket. On MAX there is no farebox: buy and load a Hop card from the vending machine at the station before you board.
Connectivity: Airport Wi-Fi is free. Connect to the open flypdx network, accept the terms when the page appears, and open a browser to flypdx.com if it does not. Your device is dropped after one hour of inactivity and you have to accept the terms again, so do not leave a long upload unattended and expect it to finish.
Getting back through security: Check which checkpoint you need before you leave the airport. The D/E checkpoint is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, but the B/C checkpoint is closed from 10:00 p.m. to 3:00 a.m., and PreCheck lanes open at 4:00 a.m. and close at about 4:00 p.m. daily at each checkpoint. The airport notes these checkpoint hours are subject to change, so check before you leave the terminal. The airport asks travelers to arrive two hours before a domestic departure during the busy early morning and three hours before any international departure.
The hole between 2 a.m. and 5 a.m.: The last train leaves PDX at 12:27 a.m. and the night bus makes its final run at 2:00 a.m. The first train back out is 4:59 a.m. on weekdays and 4:56 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday. If your window falls between those two, a taxi or a rideshare is the only way into town, and the terminal lobby is open all night if you would rather wait it out.
The pickup point moved: Do not wait at the curb. Taxis, Uber, and Lyft all now meet passengers inside Level 1 of the Short-Term Parking garage instead of on the main roadway, at the signed Transportation Plaza, with garage columns labeled by service. Taxi prices are not set by the city or the airport: each company files its own rates and has to show them to you before you accept the ride, so ask at the pillar rather than assuming a standard airport fare.
Road traffic through mid October: If you are taking a car rather than the train, allow extra. PDX is telling travelers to plan in advance for extra travel time to the airport from Friday, September 11, 2026, because all southbound lanes of Interstate 5 between I-84 and I-405 close for up to five weeks for the I-5 Rose Quarter Improvement Project, pushing traffic onto I-205 and other routes to the airport. TriMet is separately advising people to ride MAX instead of driving. The Red Line itself is not affected, so the train is the reliable move in that window.
Emergency Numbers for Portland, PDX Airport, and the United States
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| Emergency (police, fire, medical), call or text | 911 |
| Port of Portland Police, emergency at PDX | 503-460-4000 |
| Port of Portland Police, non-emergency at PDX | 503-460-4747 |
| Port of Portland Police Department, general line | 503-460-4221 |
| Portland Police Bureau, non-emergency, 24 hours a day | 503-823-3333 |
| Multnomah County Behavioral Health Crisis Line, 24 hours, free and confidential | 503-988-4888 |
| PDX Airport customer service, call or text, 6 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. | 503-460-4234 |
| United States country code (calling from abroad) | +1 |
Save these before you fly; numbers work from any phone.
How do I get from Portland airport to downtown Portland?
Take the MAX Red Line from the station at the south end of the terminal, which you can reach from either the ticket lobby level or the baggage claim level. TriMet puts the trip to downtown Portland at about 40 minutes, with trains every 15 minutes or less most of the day and every 30 minutes early in the morning and late at night. Tap a contactless card or your phone on the green reader on the platform before you board.
How much is the MAX from PDX to downtown Portland?
USD 2.80 for adults 18 to 64, and USD 1.40 for Honored Citizens and for youth. You do not need to buy a pass in advance: keep tapping the same card and TriMet caps an adult at USD 5.60 a day and USD 100 a calendar month, with reduced fares capped at USD 2.80 a day. Paying cash on a bus, you can ask the driver for a 2.5 hour or a 1-day ticket.
Does the MAX run all night from Portland airport?
No. The last Red Line train leaves PDX at 12:27 a.m. The 292-Red Bus then covers the gap with three trips, leaving the airport at 1:00 a.m., 1:30 a.m., and 2:00 a.m. with the first of them timetabled into SW 5th and Morrison downtown at 2:04 a.m. The first train back out is 4:59 a.m. on weekdays and 4:56 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday, so between 2 a.m. and about 5 a.m. a taxi or rideshare is the only way into town.
Is tap water safe to drink in Portland?
Yes. The Portland Water Bureau, Multnomah County, and the Oregon Health Authority all state that Bull Run water is safe to drink and that the general public does not need to take additional precautions. Portland does not yet filter for Cryptosporidium and is required to install filtration by September 30, 2029, so the bureau tests at least twice a week, stepping up to four times a week for as long as detections continue, and publishes every detection. Anyone with a severely weakened immune system is advised to ask their own doctor first.
Where do taxis and Uber pick up at PDX?
Both now meet passengers inside Level 1 of the Short-Term Parking garage rather than on the main roadway. Follow the signs to the Transportation Plaza; taxis wait at the taxi pillar and rideshare columns are labeled by service. Taxi fares are not set by the city or the airport, so each company must show you its rate before you accept the ride.
Spotted a change? Tell us and we fix it for the next crew.
Crew Discounts in Portland: verified car rental and hotel rates for airline staff sit right below this guide. Bookmark this page before you head down to the MAX platform at the south end of the terminal. Next Portland rotation you start on the rates instead of from scratch.
