Aug. 20--SARASOTA -- Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport will double the number of daily flights going to and from Chicago this holiday season on United Airlines, officials announced Monday.
United will add twice-daily flights to and from Chicago's O'Hare International Airport and SRQ from Dec. 19 through Jan. 6.
A nonstop flight to O'Hare is now offered once a day.
United began the SRQ-Chicago flight service in November, the first time the airline had flown to and from the Sarasota-Bradenton airport in 17 years.
"It is great to see United Airlines add flights to SRQ for the upcoming holidays based upon strong demand to and from Chicago," said Frederick "Rick" Piccolo, president and chief operating officer of Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport. "We view this as a positive step and are hopeful this could lead to additional service increases in the winter schedule."
The winter schedule extends into the spring for peak tourism season, where Piccolo hopes that the additions could
come. One possibility is added service to Newark, Piccolo said.
Through the end of July, 53,777 people used United out of SRQ, according to an activity report prepared by the airport. Delta and JetBlue carry the most passengers at the airport, ahead of United, according to the report.
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