More people traveled through Spokane International Airport than ever in 2024

Spokane International Airport set a record for air travel in 2024.

More than 4.26 million passengers used the airport last year, which marked a slight increase over the 4.13 million users that set the previous record in 2023, according to an airport news release.

The benchmark was reached after the airport opened the Concourse C west terminal expansion, which added 800 new parking stalls. Ezra Eckhardt, the president and CEO of STCU who also serves as the Spokane Airport Board chair, noted the accomplishment in the release.

“2024 was the first step in a bold new era for Spokane International Airport – one marked by growing air service connectivity, continuing infrastructure investments, and the introduction of a new airport experience brought to life through the Airport’s TREX Program,” Eckhardt said in the release.

Work was completed on the Concourse C west terminal expansion, which was the first phase of the airport’s Terminal Renovation and Expansion Program that it refers to as TREX.

It added three new gates, a similar number of ticket counters and several amenities for passengers at the airport’s existing terminal facility.

Work also began on the next phase, or the Concourse C east terminal expansion, which will replace existing ground-boarding gates with new passenger boarding bridges and upgrade the concourse’s gates to reflect the new terminal’s look and feel, according to the release.

Officials indicated they expect passenger traffic to grow in 2025. So far, the number of airline seats reserved for travel is 15% higher than this time in 2024.

Some of that boost comes as carriers – including American, Southwest, Frontier and Allegiant airlines – have added new travel options.

“We are thankful for every passenger who chose to make (the Spokane airport) part of their 2024 travel and look forward to continuing this momentum into what we anticipate will be yet another transformational year,” Eckhardt said in the release.

Spokane International Airport is jointly owned by the city of Spokane and Spokane County. It’s the second-largest commercial airport in Washington and provides jobs for about 3,000 people.

It currently operates without a leader.

Spokane Airports CEO Larry Krauter announced in November that he had accepted the similar job of CEO of Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport, which is located across the Ohio River from Cincinnati in Hebron, Kentucky.

Todd Woodard, the marketing and public affairs director at the airport, said in an email that Krauter’s last day in Spokane was Feb. 10 and that the Airport Board has contracted with the ADK Consulting & Executive Search, which is primarily based in Jacksonville, Florida, to help find Krauter’s replacement.

Woodward did not provide further details.

Krauter, who also oversaw operations at Felts Field and Spokane Airport Business Park, had held the job since 2011. Krauter did not immediately return a phone call seeking comment.

As for the record travel, it marked only the third time that the airport has topped 4 million passengers.

It approached that mark in 2018, with 3.98 million passengers, and then passed the 4 million-passenger threshold in 2019. In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, airport traffic was cut in half.

Passenger use increased in 2021 and 2022, but it didn’t again pass the 4 million mark until it set the previous record of 4.13 million in 2023, according to data provided by the airport.