People are Flying Again. Sarasota Bradenton International Airport Smashes Record

    July 12, 2021

    By James A. Jones Jr.

    Source The Bradenton Herald (TNS)

    Jul. 12—MANATEE — Pent-up demand, and the availability of many more destinations helped Sarasota Bradenton International Airport set a new record in June with 312,909 passengers passing through the terminal.

    "It is exciting to see the airport break the 300,000-passenger level in a single month. This has never occurred in the history of the airport and to do so in the summer when we typically see fewer travelers is pretty amazing," Rick Piccolo, airport president and CEO, said in a press release.

    "I think this is a testament that people are ready to travel again and with so many new choices being offered at SRQ, the community and visitors are now experiencing the convenience and simplicity of using our airport," he said.

    SRQ has bounced back faster from the COVID-19 pandemic than most airports and is now one of the fastest growing in the United States.

    "SRQ has 10 airlines serving 48 nonstop destinations and with airlines currently planning their winter schedules, we are hopeful that we will continue to see more nonstop destinations added in the near future," Piccolo said.

    Passenger traffic was heavily impacted by COVID-19 at airports nationwide in June 2020. That month, SRQ saw only 52,845 passengers use its terminal, down from 147,615 in June 2019.

    Traffic the past four months has been the greatest in SRQ history with 277,590 passengers in March, 294,165 in April and 288,551 in May. Airport officials are scrambling to keep up with new expansion projects.

    Recently, Southwest Airlines announced that on Nov. 7 it is starting daily service from SRQ to Washington D.C., (Reagan National), and Sunday-through-Friday service to New York LaGuardia.

    Southwest is also increasing Saturday service to Dallas to daily, starting Nov. 7 and will also offer flights to Austin, Texas, on various days during the 2021 holiday season.

    For a full list of nonstop destinations visit https://srq-airport.com/nonstop-destinations.

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