Spokane International Airport reports record traffic, lays out terminal expansion and PFAS investigation

Spokane International Airport leaders told a joint city‑county meeting that the airport recorded another year of strong passenger growth and is moving forward with a major terminal renovation while continuing a multi‑year investigation into per‑ and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) on and near airport property.

"We just celebrated our third consecutive year of record enplanements ... 4,300,000 total passengers," said Dave Hardy, the airport's new chief executive, as he outlined four priorities that will guide his first years: team development, a strategic planning effort (expected to start outreach late March/early April), customer‑experience improvements and economic development tied to air service and the business park.

Airport staff described recent and planned infrastructure work. "We added 6 new ticket counters" and Concourse C expansion will leave the airport with nine gates and eliminate ground boarding, said Lisa Corcoran, chief development officer. Corcoran said the terminal project includes a two‑story Central Hall that will consolidate screening to one checkpoint and increase screening capacity to as many as 11 lanes; it also provides consolidated baggage claim space and land‑side curb consolidation and parking improvements intended to improve throughput and reduce queuing at peak times.

Air service staff said capacity is increasing. "In 2026 ... our scheduled seats are actually up 12% year over year" in the first quarter, Joe Neville, the airport's air service development manager, said, citing higher seats‑per‑departure and new or seasonal nonstop routes announced for 2026, including Orange County year‑round on Alaska and weekend seasonal service to Houston on United.

The airport also briefed officials on an ongoing PFAS investigation. Corcoran and environmental specialist Keland Huddleston said the airport completed a public site assessment report and has posted data to a public website. Huddleston reviewed the site's military history and explained the Ecology enforcement order, saying the airport is in Task 1 (site assessment and RIFS work plan development) and that remedial investigation field work (Task 2) and a feasibility study (Task 3) will follow. "We completed the site assessment report," Huddleston said, and quarterly groundwater monitoring began in January.

Huddleston and Corcoran identified several on‑airfield locations with elevated PFAS concentrations, including a historical firehouse, the current fire station and a joint fire training area, which they said has the highest concentrations on the airfield. Corcoran said the airport's documented uses of firefighting foam (AFFF) have been "at very de minimis levels" and primarily limited to testing and regulated demonstrations with the FAA; she contrasted that with higher concentrations documented offsite at Fairchild Air Force Base, where officials have provided their testing results to the airport.

Corcoran said the city, county and airport had been issued an interim action a few days earlier with a defined scope and that the three agencies were meeting with Ecology that afternoon to clarify schedule and next steps. "It's too early to update what that means," she said, adding that officials would report back once there is clarity.

County leaders described funding to help affected private properties. Commissioner Al French said the county requested $18 million from the state and received $7.5 million with restrictions that the funds not be used for testing or administrative costs; the county is covering administrative costs and working to distribute funds for point‑of‑entry treatment (POET) systems and navigators to assist property owners. French said the county has requested an additional $10 million to expand testing and services.

Council members asked about potential offsite sources and interim mitigation. Huddleston described the airport boundary, on‑field and off‑field sampling points, and a known drainage from Fairchild that leads onto airport property; Corcoran said Fairchild has shared sampling data and that the airport will incorporate upgradient sources into its investigation.

The joint meeting closed the airport portion of its agenda after the briefing and moved on to other items. The body announced an upcoming executive session on potential litigation.

What happens next: airport staff said the RIFS work plan will be due to Ecology about 120 days after the initial PFAS investigation report is finalized; the airport will continue posting reports and data to its public website and coordinate next interim actions and monitoring with Ecology and county partners.