The station is located on the ground floor of the airport's main passenger terminal near the southern end of the arrivals hall and baggage claim area.

[11][12] In 1991, the Port of Portland adopted a multi-phased, $300 million airport master plan to address expected passenger traffic growth through 2010.

[16] Struggling to meet demand, Port officials moved to accelerate airport light rail plans, which regional planners did not anticipate pursuing until the late 2000s.

[24] Hoffman Construction began building the station's platform in July 2000 and by August, Stacy and Witbeck had started to lay the 3,000 ft (914.4 m) of rail along the segment closest to the terminal.

[27][28] Planners projected single-car trains to initially serve Portland International Airport station but TriMet deployed two-car consists on the line after recording 3,800 riders over Thanksgiving weekend in November 2001.

[21][29] In September 2003, TriMet extended Red Line service farther west using the existing Westside MAX tracks to Beaverton Transit Center.

[34] On June 18, 2023, TriMet temporarily ceased MAX Red Line service from Portland Airport station to Gateway Transit Center to make way for reconstruction.

[36][37] Portland Airport station's platform is situated at ground level just outside the main passenger terminal, near the southernmost entrance, and within 150 ft (45.7 m) of the baggage claim area.

[40] An 80-seat station lobby is located inside the terminal and has ticket vending machines and real-time displays showing train departure times.

[17][43] Time Flies by Christine Bourdette is a large, porcelain enamel mural displayed on a wall between the station platform and the baggage claim area.