History
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. The airport continues to use the airport code GEG, which referred to Geiger Field.
The current terminal complex opened in 1965 and was designed by Warren C. Heylman and William Trogdon.
Read more about this topic: Spokane International Airport
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