Is Parkrose loud from airplanes?

Parkrose sees high exposure, but it is not directly beneath the field as is sometimes assumed. It sits south-east of PDX, with I-205 along its western edge and the airport beyond. It catches low traffic near the eastern end of the east-west runway corridor, which is most noticeable in fall and winter east flow when departures and arrivals work the 10L/10R ends. Drop a pin on the map above to see the count for your exact street.

Which Portland neighborhood is closest to the airport runways?

Cully is the genuinely airport-adjacent neighborhood, bordering PDX on its south side. Because the two commercial runways run east-west just south of the Columbia River, Cully sits close under low departure and arrival tracks in both flow directions and is one of the most consistently affected areas. Parkrose, Argay Terrace and Wilkes to the east are also high-exposure but a few kilometres further out along the runway axis.

How do I report aircraft noise to the Port of Portland?

Contact the Port of Portland Noise Management Office at 503-460-4100 or file a report through the online complaint form at portofportland.com/NoiseManagement. Complaints feed into the Citizen Noise Advisory Committee (CNAC), a standing public committee that reviews noise data and abatement procedures. Logging the time and your location helps staff match your report to a specific flight.

Why are planes flying low over my house in NE Portland?

PDX sits in northeast Portland with the Columbia River along its north side, so nearly all residential overflight falls to the south and off the east and west ends of the parallel runways. If you are roughly along the east-west line through the field, you are under the extended centerline and will see the most consistent traffic. Noise-abatement procedures try to keep jets over the river and away from homes, but the extended centerlines east and west of the runways still carry the steadiest exposure. The pin-drop tool above shows exactly which tracks cross your address.

Is the Vancouver, WA waterfront affected by PDX noise?

Less than you might expect for its distance. The Vancouver Waterfront and Hazel Dell sit across the Columbia River to the north of PDX, and because the runways are aligned east-west, those areas are offset from the main flight-path axis. They get limited direct overflight compared with neighborhoods that lie due east, west or south of the field.

Does this map cover all aircraft over Portland?

The heatmap and route-density layers are built from ADS-B tracks, which capture essentially all commercial jet traffic at PDX. The main gaps are a small amount of general-aviation and lighter cargo traffic, some of which uses the shorter 03/21 crosswind runway and may not be fully ADS-B equipped, but that traffic is a small share of overall movements.

Portland Flight Path Noise Map – Portland International Airport (PDX)

Name: Aircraft noise observations near Portland International Airport
Creator: Flight Path Noise
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Aircraft noise around Portland in October 2026

Loudest neighborhoods near Portland: Cully, Parkrose, Wilkes (East Columbia), Argay Terrace. Quietest: Vancouver Waterfront (WA), Maywood Park, Rose City Park, Hazel Dell (WA). Busiest around 2 PM local time averaging 948 flights/day. Source: Flight Path Noise monitoring data, 30 days to 2026-10-17.

Flights by hour · last 30 days

12a6a12p6p

Average daily traffic

948

flights / day · 28,455 total

Busiest hour

2 PM

peak 95 dB

Loudest hour

2 PM

peak 95 dB

Loudest residential area

Bridgeton / East Columbia

71 dB avg · ~561 flights/day · Loud conversation

Riverfront neighborhood west of the field; sees over-river west-flow operations close to the water track

Does Portland Airport have a curfew?

No — Portland has no formal curfew.

Portland International operates 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, and has no mandatory or voluntary night flight ban. The Port of Portland says it lacks the authority to limit operational access, and FAA rules rooted in the Airport Noise and Capacity Act of 1990 bar federally funded public airports like PDX from imposing flight-operation restrictions. Noise is managed by routing jets over the Columbia River rather than by the clock, so the loudest moments are controlled by flight path, not by time of day.

Portland International Airport (PDX) sits right on the south bank of the Columbia River, and that river is the single defining fact of its noise story. The airport’s two long parallel runways run almost exactly east-west, so jets climb out and approach low along the riverline, and the Port of Portland’s noise-abatement procedures are explicitly designed to keep aircraft out over the water and away from homes wherever possible. Operations swing with the seasons: a west flow in spring and summer when winds come off the ocean, and an east flow in fall and winter when cold air pours out of the Columbia River Gorge. There is no curfew here — PDX runs 24 hours a day, and as a federally funded airport the Port is legally barred from imposing a night flight ban, so the loudest moments are managed by routing rather than by clock.

Which neighborhoods are quietest — and which aren’t

PDX runs three runways. The two commercial runways are parallels just south of the river: 10R/28L (3,353 m / 11,000 ft, the longest, which handles the heaviest long-haul departures) and 10L/28R (2,995 m / 9,825 ft). They are separated by roughly 3,100 ft and both point east-west. The third, 03/21 (1,829 m / 6,000 ft), is a shorter crosswind runway running northeast-southwest that carries far lower traffic — mostly general aviation, cargo and FedEx feeder aircraft.

Because the field hugs the river on its north side, nearly all residential exposure falls to the south and off the east and west ends of the parallels. Communities that sit along the extended east-west centerline see the most consistent overflight; those offset north or south of the runway axis get noticeably less.

Area	Aircraft noise	Why
Cully	✈︎✈︎✈︎	Borders the field on its south side; closest neighborhood, low tracks in both flows
Parkrose	✈︎✈︎✈︎	South-east of the field near the eastern runway end; east-flow tracks
Wilkes (East Columbia)	✈︎✈︎✈︎	Directly under the eastern extended centerline
Argay Terrace	✈︎✈︎✈︎	South-east, east of the runway ends; east-flow arrivals and departures
Hayden Island	✈︎✈︎	Over-river west-flow tracks, offset from centerline
Image (Gresham NW)	✈︎✈︎	Eastern runway axis, climbing departures in east flow
Roseway	✈︎✈︎	South near the western corridor, off the river-hugging track
Hollywood	✈︎✈︎	Broader western approach path, set back from centerline
Bridgeton / East Columbia	✈︎✈︎	Riverfront west of the field, near the over-river track
Fairview / Government Island	✈︎✈︎	East along the axis, en-route east-flow corridor
Vancouver Waterfront (WA)	✈︎	Across the river, offset from the east-west axis
Maywood Park	✈︎	South of the field but lateral to the main corridor
Rose City Park	✈︎	South of the axis; higher, dispersed overflight
Hazel Dell (WA)	✈︎	Well north across the river, away from the flight paths

If aircraft noise is a primary concern, the practical move in Portland is to get off the east-west line through the field and ideally north of the river — areas like the Vancouver Waterfront and Hazel Dell are surprisingly clear for their distance because the runway alignment points the traffic away from them. The most consistently affected ring is the neighborhoods due south and off the runway ends: Cully, Parkrose, Argay Terrace and Wilkes. If you are looking at homes there, drop a pin on the map above to see your specific street’s exposure.

Flight patterns and runway use

The two commercial runways run east-west, parallel to and just south of the Columbia River, and the airport’s flow is seasonal. In spring and summer, prevailing westerly winds give a west flow, with departures and arrivals to the west on runways 28R and 28L. In fall and winter, strong easterly winds funneling out of the Columbia River Gorge give an east flow, with operations to the east on 10L and 10R. That seasonal flip is the biggest single driver of which neighborhoods are busy in a given month.

The noise-abatement flight patterns for jets were deliberately designed to keep aircraft over the Columbia River and away from residential areas as much as possible, so departure tracks favor turning toward or staying over the water rather than overflying neighborhoods to the south. What that abatement design cannot move are the extended centerlines: aircraft on final approach and initial climb-out have to be lined up with the runway, which puts the steadiest exposure directly east and west of the field. Communities offset north or south of the runway axis see considerably less.

The shorter crosswind runway 03/21 carries far lower traffic and shifts some overflight onto a northeast-southwest line during crosswind conditions, but it is not a major factor for most residents compared with the two parallels.

The route-density layer on the map above shows the cumulative pattern as two bright bands extending east and west from the parallel runways along the river, with a fainter diagonal from the crosswind runway. The over-river bias in the abatement routing is visible as a kink in the tracks where departures turn to follow the water.

When is it quietest?

PDX has no curfew, so unlike a curfew airport there is no guaranteed silent overnight window. The Port does not have the authority to ban night flights, and FAA rules prohibit federally funded public airports from imposing time-of-day operating restrictions. In practice, though, the schedule still has a clear daily rhythm:

Overnight (11 PM – 5 AM): lightest traffic, dominated by cargo and the occasional repositioning or delayed flight. Quiet, but not zero — there is no enforced ban, so a late arrival or early freight departure can occur at any hour.
Early morning (5 AM – 8 AM): the morning departure bank builds, with back-to-back domestic and the day’s long-haul departures off the longer 10R/28L runway.
Midday (10 AM – 3 PM): steady, moderate traffic.
Evening (4 PM – 9 PM): the heaviest arrival period, as domestic returns and inbound long-haul stack up.

The other variable is the seasonal flow switch. Whether you are under the busy side of the operation depends heavily on the time of year: a west-flow summer puts the consistent traffic on the western neighborhoods and the river, while an east-flow winter shifts it onto Parkrose, Argay, Wilkes and out toward Gresham. For your specific address, the pin-drop tool above shows the hourly and directional breakdown.

How to check noise at your specific address

The map above is the answer to “is this spot loud?” Three steps:

Search your address or postcode in the bar at the bottom of the map.
Drop a pin — click the location marker that appears.
Read the noise report that opens in the sidebar: average daily noise (Leq), peak observed dB, flights per day passing within 2 km, and an hourly breakdown.

The Noise Heatmap layer (orange/red = louder) and the Route Density layer (purple/magenta = busier corridors) make the east-west parallel-runway pattern obvious, including how the tracks bend to follow the Columbia River under the abatement procedures. Most addresses set back from the east-west line through the field — and especially anything north of the river — will land in the green/quiet zone, while the ring of high-exposure neighborhoods (Cully, Parkrose, Argay Terrace, Wilkes) shows up clearly in the warmer colors.

If you want to escalate a real noise problem, the Port of Portland Noise Management Office takes complaints at 503-460-4100 and through the online form at portofportland.com/NoiseManagement; those reports feed the Citizen Noise Advisory Committee (CNAC).

Frequently asked questions

Is Parkrose loud from airplanes?: Parkrose sees high exposure, but it is not directly beneath the field as is sometimes assumed. It sits south-east of PDX, with I-205 along its western edge and the airport beyond. It catches low traffic near the eastern end of the east-west runway corridor, which is most noticeable in fall and winter east flow when departures and arrivals work the 10L/10R ends. Drop a pin on the map above to see the count for your exact street.
Which Portland neighborhood is closest to the airport runways?: Cully is the genuinely airport-adjacent neighborhood, bordering PDX on its south side. Because the two commercial runways run east-west just south of the Columbia River, Cully sits close under low departure and arrival tracks in both flow directions and is one of the most consistently affected areas. Parkrose, Argay Terrace and Wilkes to the east are also high-exposure but a few kilometres further out along the runway axis.
What is the difference between PDX east flow and west flow?: PDX flips direction with the seasons. In spring and summer, prevailing westerly winds off the ocean give a west flow, with departures and arrivals to the west on runways 28R and 28L. In fall and winter, strong easterly winds funneling out of the Columbia River Gorge give an east flow, with operations to the east on 10L and 10R. West flow concentrates noise on western neighborhoods like Cully and the Bridgeton riverfront; east flow shifts it onto Parkrose, Argay, Wilkes and out toward Gresham and Fairview.
How do I report aircraft noise to the Port of Portland?: Contact the Port of Portland Noise Management Office at 503-460-4100 or file a report through the online complaint form at portofportland.com/NoiseManagement. Complaints feed into the Citizen Noise Advisory Committee (CNAC), a standing public committee that reviews noise data and abatement procedures. Logging the time and your location helps staff match your report to a specific flight.
Why are planes flying low over my house in NE Portland?: PDX sits in northeast Portland with the Columbia River along its north side, so nearly all residential overflight falls to the south and off the east and west ends of the parallel runways. If you are roughly along the east-west line through the field, you are under the extended centerline and will see the most consistent traffic. Noise-abatement procedures try to keep jets over the river and away from homes, but the extended centerlines east and west of the runways still carry the steadiest exposure. The pin-drop tool above shows exactly which tracks cross your address.
Is the Vancouver, WA waterfront affected by PDX noise?: Less than you might expect for its distance. The Vancouver Waterfront and Hazel Dell sit across the Columbia River to the north of PDX, and because the runways are aligned east-west, those areas are offset from the main flight-path axis. They get limited direct overflight compared with neighborhoods that lie due east, west or south of the field.
Does this map cover all aircraft over Portland?: The heatmap and route-density layers are built from ADS-B tracks, which capture essentially all commercial jet traffic at PDX. The main gaps are a small amount of general-aviation and lighter cargo traffic, some of which uses the shorter 03/21 crosswind runway and may not be fully ADS-B equipped, but that traffic is a small share of overall movements.

Sources and further reading

Portland International Airport — Wikipedia — Wikipedia
Noise Management — Port of Portland
Citizen Noise Advisory Committee (CNAC) — Port of Portland
Portland International Airport — Oregon Encyclopedia
KPDX Portland International Airport — AOPA

Data updated 2026-10-17 — live ADS-B monitoring, rolling 30-day statistics (methodology). Article text revised 2026-05-30.

30 dB	Whisper
45 dB	Quiet residential
55 dB	Normal conversation
65 dB	Busy road
75 dB	Vacuum cleaner
85 dB	Heavy traffic
95 dB	Motorcycle nearby

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Portland Flight Path Noise Map – Portland International Airport (PDX)

Aircraft noise around Portland in October 2026

Does Portland Airport have a curfew?

Which neighborhoods are quietest — and which aren’t

Flight patterns and runway use

When is it quietest?

How to check noise at your specific address

Frequently asked questions

Sources and further reading

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