05.30.24

Cantwell Celebrates Grand Opening of New Spokane Airport Expansion

Cantwell secured $59.3M in federal funding that covered nearly 40% of the project’s total cost; When fully complete, TREX project will add 6 ticket counters and 6 new gates to Spokane International Airport

SPOKANE, WA – Today, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) joined Spokane Mayor Lisa Brown, Spokane International Airport CEO Larry Krauter, and other local leaders to celebrate the grand opening of the Spokane International Airport’s Concourse C West Terminal Expansion. 

"Spokane is definitely on the move. This Terminal C expansion -- adding new gates, adding new flights -- has given Washingtonians more opportunity to go to places they want," Sen. Cantwell said. “Most economic development happens within just a few miles of an airport. So if you're not investing in your airport, you're not investing in your economy."

"Last year, Spokane had a record 4.13 million people traveling through the airport. And my guess is that with this new capacity, you're going to break all sorts of records."

The expansion will add vital capacity at the airport, which served 4.13 million passengers, an all-time high, in 2023.

As chair of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, Sen. Cantwell has championed a dramatic increase in federal resources for airport infrastructure improvements like this one. Since the TREX project was announced, Sen. Cantwell has helped to secure $59.3 million in federal funding for the airport’s expansion, including:

  • $2 million in Airport Terminal Grants in the FY2024 budget;
  • $15 million in Airport Terminal Grants in the FY2023 budget;
  • $11 million in Airport Terminal Grants in the FY2022 budget;
  • $19.3 million from the Airport Infrastructure Grant Program.

In all, $59,354,879 in federal funds covered 39% of the $150 million total project cost.

Completion of the Concourse C West Expansion marks the halfway point of the Concourse C Expansion Project -- the first stage of the airport’s multi-year, multi-phase Terminal Renovation and Expansion (TREX) Program designed to accommodate the region’s growth. The second stage of the Concourse Expansion Project, focused on the east portion of the concourse, will begin later this summer and is expected to be fully completed by the end of 2025.

When complete, the project will add six additional ticket counters and three additional gates at Concourse C. The additional capacity is much-needed -- Spokane International Airport saw enplanements grow 38 percent between 2013 and 2019. Last year, the airport served 4.13 million passengers, exceeding for the first time the pre-pandemic high of 4.03 million passengers in 2019.

In July 2022, shortly before Spokane International Airport broke ground on the TREX project, Sen. Cantwell held a press conference at the airport highlighting the need to expand Spokane’s air travel capacity and to voice her support of the TREX project. Footage of that press conference is available HERE.

Video of Sen. Cantwell’s remarks today are available HERE; photos of the event are HERE; and a transcript is HERE.