| Spokane International Airport Geiger Field |
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| Spokane International viewed from the south | |||
| IATA: GEG – ICAO: KGEG – FAA LID: GEG
GEG
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| Summary | |||
| Airport type | Public | ||
| Operator | Spokane County-City | ||
| Location | Spokane County, near Spokane, Washington, USA | ||
| Elevation AMSL | 2,376 ft / 724 m | ||
| Website | |||
| Runways | |||
| Direction | Length | Surface | |
| ft | m | ||
| 3/21 | 11,000 | 3,353 | Asphalt |
| 7/25 | 8,199 | 2,499 | Asphalt |
| Statistics (2010) | |||
| Cargo | 46,863 | ||
| Passengers | 3,176,204 | ||
| Source: Federal Aviation Administration[1] | |||
Spokane International Airport (IATA: GEG, ICAO: KGEG, FAA LID: GEG) is a commercial airport located about 5 miles (8 km) west of downtown Spokane in Spokane County, Washington.[1] It is the primary airport for Spokane, eastern Washington, Coeur d'Alene, and northern Idaho. It is the second largest airport in Washington, processing over 3 million passengers in 2010.
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Known as Sunset Field before 1941, it was purchased from the county by the War Department and renamed Geiger Field after Major Harold Geiger, an Army aviation pioneer who died in a crash in 1927.
During World War II, Geiger Field was a major training base by Second Air Force as a group training airfield for B-17 Flying Fortress heavy bombardment units, with new aircraft being obtained from Boeing near Seattle. It was also used by Air Technical Service Command as an aircraft maintenance and supply depot; auxiliary airfields were located at Deer Park Airport and Felts Field.
Geiger was closed in late 1945 and turned over to War Assets Administration (WAA) for disposal, then transferred to Spokane County and developed into a commercial airport. The airport hosted USAF Air Defense Command interceptor units during the Cold War; used for air defense of Hanford Nuclear Reservation and Grand Coulee Dam. Built in 1942 as the Spokane Air Depot, Fairchild Air Force Base is located just four miles (7 km) to the west.
It was designated Spokane's municipal airport in 1946, replacing Felts Field, and received its present name in 1960.[2]
There is currently a plan in place for future expansion of the airport as it continues to grow in passenger volume.[3] Big components of the master plan include adding a third runway and expanding Concourse C with more gates. There have been, at times, non-stop flights to southern California since the 1970s. However, these are among the first to be suspended during economic downturns, high fuel prices, and airline restructuring.
A new control tower has been built south of the airport, replacing the old one located near Concourse C. Currently, the new control tower is the tallest control tower in the State of Washington. Another project, recently completed, was the Terminal, Rotunda, and Concourse C Enhancement Project (TRACE).[4] The project, which concluded in November 2006, added retail space and expanded the security checkpoints in the airport's three concourses, and gave the Rotunda an aesthetic renovation. In 2010, 2000 feet was added to Runway 3-21, and parallel taxiways 'A' and 'G' enabling heavier aircraft departures in summer months.
With the rapid growth of the Spokane area, the airport plans to add another concourse in the next 5–10 years. Spokane International Airport (SIA) looks to add more direct flights to the east coast as the Spokane market in recent years has been hosting big events and attracting business to the area.
Spokane International Airport provides 24 gates on 3 concourses. Gates on Concourse A are numbered 11-15, gates on Concourse B are numbered 1-10, and gates on Concourse C are numbered 22-25 and 30-32. Although American Airlines has never served Spokane, it currently code shares with Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air.
| Airlines | Destinations | Concourse |
|---|---|---|
| Alaska Airlines | Seattle/Tacoma | C |
| Alaska Airlines operated by Horizon Air | Portland (OR), Seattle/Tacoma | C |
| Delta Air Lines | Minneapolis/St. Paul, Salt Lake City | B |
| Delta Connection operated by Mesaba Airlines | Seasonal: Minneapolis/St. Paul | B |
| Delta Connection operated by SkyWest Airlines | Seasonal: Salt Lake City | B |
| Frontier Airlines | Denver | C |
| Frontier Airlines operated by Republic Airlines | Denver | C |
| Southwest Airlines | Boise, Denver, Las Vegas, Oakland, Portland (OR), Phoenix, Seattle/Tacoma [ends January 8][5] | A |
| United Airlines | Denver | B |
| United Express operated by Shuttle America | Seasonal: Chicago-O'Hare | B |
| United Express operated by SkyWest Airlines | Denver, San Francisco | B |
| US Airways | Phoenix | B |
| Rank | City | Passengers per 12 months | Carriers |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Seattle/Tacoma, WA | 455,000 | Alaska, Horizon, Southwest |
| 2 | Denver, CO | 223,000 | Frontier, Southwest, United |
| 3 | Salt Lake City, UT | 176,000 | Delta |
| 4 | Portland, OR | 154,000 | Horizon, Southwest |
| 5 | Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN | 100,000 | Delta |
| 6 | Phoenix, AZ | 79,000 | Southwest, US Airways |
| 7 | Las Vegas, NV | 78,000 | Southwest |
| 8 | Boise, ID | 67,000 | Southwest |
| 9 | Oakland, CA | 64,000 | Southwest |
| 10 | San Francisco, CA | 39,000 | United |
This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the Air Force Historical Research Agency.
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