When the new ceiling was plopped on top of Portland International Airport’s terminal in the summer of 2024, the “temporary” exit route lengthened the walk from gate to baggage claim, sending arriving passengers around the security checkpoints and down the concourse connector hallway. When you emerged at the back of the main terminal, you had to make your way through the busiest part of the departures level to get to the escalators and elevators down to baggage claim.

From the iconic carpet and super convenient MAX service to its street pricing rules (requiring local restaurants and shops to keep prices the same at their airport and nonairport locations), PDX is a point of civic pride. So it was a rare knock to hear complaints about the mighty meander.

On April 15, PDX officially retired the “temporary” path and opened the new, permanent exits at the north and south ends, bringing people straight from the concourses to the front of the terminal. Arriving passengers still need to walk through the departures level a bit to reach an escalator—the ones that will take you straight from the exits down to baggage claim are still a month or two away from opening. And baggage claim itself is still largely a construction zone. But the walk just got a lot shorter.

Depending on a flight’s particular gate and baggage claim carousel, your trek could be 3–10 minutes shorter now than it was a week ago. We timed it from the farthest gate, Southwest’s E12, and walked 7 minutes to reach the new exit near where Concourses D and E meet the terminal, as opposed to about 10 minutes to get to the old exit in the middle of the concourse connector.

What could we do with those extra 3–10 minutes? Stop off for cheese curds or an ice cream cone at the Tillamook restaurant? Pick up a graphic novel at the Books with Pictures shelf hiding in the back of the new Barbur Foods, also in Concourse E? Grab a smoothie at the Sheridan Fruit Co. (RIP) store next to the north lounge area where people can wait to pick up their visitors, or some fresh flowers or a bear full of honey at the Topaz Farm–branded shop by the south lounge area?

Or maybe we’ll just sneak back into the suddenly quiet and peaceful concourse connector anyway, just to take a look at its mini art galleries. They’re suddenly getting a lot less foot traffic.