Arrow-right Camera
The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Spokane International Airport gets $18 million from Biden administration

U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell and Spokane County Commissioner Al French tour the new Spokane International Airport C West Terminal during a grand opening reveal in May 2024. The expansion improves capacity at the airport, allowing for more flights, gates and ticket counters, and is part of a larger construction project that will get back underway this summer.  (COLIN MULVANY/THE SPOKESMAN-REVIEW)

The Spokane International Airport has nabbed $18 million in federal funds for upgrades.

“Spokane is on the move,” Sen. Maria Cantwell, chair of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, said in a news release Sunday.

Last year, the airport accommodated a record 4.13 million travelers, according to the release.

“With the opening of the new terminal building, this funding will help rehabilitate runway infrastructure to accommodate this added capacity at the airport,” Cantwell said in the release.

Funds were allotted by the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024, which President Joe Biden signed into law in May.

Other airports awarded funds include Tri-Cities Airport in Pasco, Arlington Municipal Airport, Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, Sanderson Field in Shelton, Bowerman Airport in Hoquiam and Olympia Regional Airport, the release said.

The sum received by the Spokane airport will be used to design and reconstruct its Taxiway A, according to a release. A taxiway is a paved path an aircraft takes to enter or exit a runway.

In May, Spokane International Airport opened its Concourse C, as part of a $150 million multiphased expansion effort.