Spokane airport runway work reroutes flight approach paths

South Hill residents will notice more flights over their neighborhood through the end of September.

Spokane International Airport closed its primary runway Sunday for construction work, and the runway won’t reopen until late September.

During the closure, departing and arriving flights will use the airport’s secondary runway for operations. The secondary runway requires aircraft to fly in more of an east-west direction, leading to additional aircraft over South Hill neighborhoods.

“Over the last few months crews have been working on improvements to (the secondary runway) and its parallel taxiway,” said Larry Krauter, CEO of Spokane Airports. “The next phase of construction requires the temporary closure of (the primary runway) for the safety of aircraft operations and the crews working on the airfield.”

The runway construction is part of a larger project involving the airport’s taxiways, which is expected to be complete in November.