WA: Spokane International Airport Sets New Passenger Traffic Record In 2018

Spokane International Airport (GEG) established a new record number of enplanements with 1,998,949 enplaned passengers traveling through the airport during calendar year 2018.  This new record represents a 12.1 percent increase over the previous year’s total of 1,782,453 enplanements.  Total passenger activity was 3,998,272, a 12.6 percent increase over 2017.

“The continued support by passengers of existing service, plus the additional investment by Southwest, Frontier and Alaska Airlines in adding service to San Jose, Denver, Las Vegas and San Diego, has led to a second consecutive year of record-breaking enplanements,” said Nancy Vorhees, Chair, Spokane Airport Board. “These results point to the strength of the Spokane/Coeur d’Alene regional economy and the growing demand for air service connectivity to existing and new markets, including international inbound and outbound travel.  We appreciate the investments our airline partners have made to respond to increased demand from passengers traveling to and from business and leisure destinations important to our market area.”

The increased passenger totals have led to some new features at the airport. A new Economy Parking Lot opened, adding 1,400 parking spaces for customers. In addition, Airport Passenger Screening Assistants have been stationed in front of the security screening checkpoints to assist with inquiries and ensure passengers are ready to enter the screening process. NextBus monitors were also added in the airport terminal to provide customers real-time updates on the wait time for airport shuttles.

In addition to these improvements, the airport expects to expand the Outside Surface Parking Lot in 2019, and to start construction on a new extension of the terminal roadway system.   A new SpringHill Suites by Marriott is also scheduled to open in late 2019.