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Hillsboro Airport
Hillsboro Airport
Hillsboro Airport (HIO), located northeast of downtown Hillsboro, is operated by the Port of Portland. HIO is defined by
the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) as a reliever airport for Portland International Airport (PDX); whose function is
to preserve capacity at PDX by offering an alternative facility for general aviation aircraft, that is separate from commer-
cial airline and air cargo activities. At the state level, the Oregon Aviation Plan defines HIO as a Category 2 airport that
accommodates “corporate aviation activities, including business jets, helicopters, and other general aviation activities.”
HIO serves corporate air traffic associated with Intel and other large Washington County companies, while also accom-
modating personal aircraft. HIO has two runways, one 6,600 feet in length, the other 4,050 feet. In 2012, HIO had 277
“based aircraft” (aircraft that are typically stored and flown from the airport), down from the nearly 400 based aircraft in
2002. In 2008, HIO averaged 695 operations (takeoffs and landings) daily. The demand analysis included in the 2005
Hillsboro Airport Master Plan projected based aircraft to increase from 363 (in 2003) to 465 by 2025; and annual
operations to increase from 253,847 to 323,000 – a 27 percent increase in operations. However, based aircraft and
operations both dropped significantly during the “great recession”.

Other Airports
Two smaller, public use airports are located in the rural areas of Washington County:
• Skyport Airport - near the village of Roy, and
• Stark Twin Oak Airport - along River Road near Scholls.

Both airports are general aviation facilities, limited to small-engine airplanes and helicopters. In addition to these two
facilities, Washington County has 23 other air facilities, including small airstrips and helipad facilities at hospitals. No
change to the operation of these airports is planned, and no additional public use airports are currently planned within
Washington County.

Air Cargo to PDX
Much of Washington County’s high tech cargo is shipped by air, due in part to the small size of the products and their high
value. Air cargo is either shipped from Portland International Airport (PDX), where a number of established air freight car-
riers such as UPS, FedEx, and Asiana Cargo have multiple daily flights, or it is consolidated and shipped by truck to larger
airports such as Seattle-Tacoma or San Francisco. The key transportation concern for air cargo traveling from Washington
County to PDX is congestion and travel time reliability on routes between Washington County and PDX, particularly Sunset
Highway. Aviation, railroad, and pipeline facilities in Washington County are shown in Figures 3-20 and 3-21.

PART 3: TRANSPORTATION MODAL ELEMENTS 111
Effective November 27, 2015 • Updated December, 15 2016