People flock to say a final farewell to Portland Airport's flooring that has more selfies than anything else

It's the most famous carpet in the world, has more selfies than Kim Kardiashian can throw a stick at, and has captured the imaginations of millions of travellers.

But although time has finally been called on Portland Airport's cult carpet, fans of the post-modern rug are still queuing up to say a fond farewell.

Not only does the picture-perfect pile has its own Facebook page (with almost 13,000 likes), Instagram account, and numerous twitter pages filled with thousand of images of Jon Schleuning's iconic design, it has also inspired a range of Adidas trainers, poems, as well as countless mugs and T-shirts.

And last Friday, it was announced that a fragment of the carpet - which is in the process of being replaced - will have a staring role as the grand marshall in Portland's annual Starlight Parade in May.  

'We get it, he is a carpet,' Starlight Parade chairman Jeff Deering  said. 

'But most importantly, that carpet represents the hundreds and thousands of employees that work directly for and indirectly for the Portland International Airport. The airport brings in $9.6 billion of economic boon to our state.'

'It's Portland, we keep it weird,' he added.

Unusually for a floor covering, the carpet has amassed loyal following since it was first laid in the late 1980s

At the last count, there were more than 42,000 foot selfies of the colourful carpet on Instagram alone using the hashtag #pdxcarpet.

Its striking geometric pattern, by architects SRG Partnership, was something of a departure from the standard oatmeal carpets in 1980's airports, and was carefully designed to reflect the spirit of the northwest. 

'Seeing the carpet means I'm home,' said one tweeter, Cindy Wilson (@mscynthialou), while Schleuning himself has said, 'people love coming back to Portland. The carpet represents home.'

The geometric design also corresponds to Portland's intersecting North-South runways, as seen from the airport's control tower.

But if you haven't managed to capture your own foot selfie with the distinctive carpet yet, there's still time. 

Airport authorities expect the removal of 13 acres of carpet will take about a year.