Spokane airport reports record passenger year and details Concourse C, Central Hall and parking changes

Dave Herring, the airport’s new chief executive, told the Spokane City Council Finance Committee that 2025 marked a third consecutive record year for passenger traffic and that the airport is preparing for major terminal work.

Herring said, “2025 was another record breaking year for us. That is the 3rd consecutive record breaking year. Over 4,350,000 passengers, flew through the airport,” and he told council members capacity for the year is up roughly 6 percent.

The presentation focused on both near‑term and long‑range infrastructure. Herring described the recent dedication of a Concourse C expansion and said new gates (including C‑12 and others) should open in early June, with the whole concourse then available for use. Looking farther ahead, he described a proposed 255,000‑square‑foot centralized facility — referred to as “Central Hall” — that would connect the airport’s two concourses and improve passenger flow; he estimated a completion horizon near 2030–2031.

Herring also briefed the committee on construction staging and traveler impacts. He said enabling work is underway to move utilities out of the Central Hall footprint and that hourly parking has already been removed to create staging areas. He warned that beginning in June traffic into the terminal will be reduced to two lanes for what he estimated could be two to three years and urged travelers to “heed that 2 hour, advance notice” so they account for changed paths and potential parking impacts.

On airline markets, Herring noted carriers’ periodic capacity changes as they test routes. He said nonstop service to Houston began in late March as a Saturday‑only market and that seasonal nonstop flights to Anchorage will run June 10 through Aug. 16 on Wednesdays and Saturdays; he encouraged residents to use these flights so carriers will maintain them.

Council members asked about signage, wayfinding and parking rates. Herring acknowledged complaints about signage in some inbound corridors and said the airport is considering static and electronic signage farther back along approach routes as well as augmented guides (marshals) to help passengers navigate changes. On parking, he said utilization is tracked in general terms and staff can run before/after utilization reports on specific dates if council requests them.

Herring closed by describing the airport’s planned strategic planning process: the city expects to select a facilitator by mid‑summer, run the strategic plan for about a year, and then fold findings into the master plan and infrastructure needs discussions.

The committee accepted the briefing with no formal action; council members said they will return with additional questions as construction proceeds.