Dec. 14—MANATEE COUNTY — Sarasota Bradenton International Airport will soon be offering 56 destinations as it continues to set records for passenger traffic.
Starting March 11, Southwest Airlines will be adding Buffalo, New York, Minneapolis, Minnesota, and Providence, Rhode Island, as destinations for two months.
Although the timing coincides with spring break, Rick Piccolo, the airport's president and CEO, said the destinations could actually see a longer run.
"If they do well, Southwest could end up extending service," Piccolo said Wednesday.
Starting Feb. 17, SRQ will add a fourth new destination as Avelo Airlines starts service to Raleigh-Durham (RDU).
In addition, there are a number of returning services at SRQ. Resuming Dec. 15:
— Philadelphia (PHL) — American
— Houston (IAH) — United
— Detroit (DTW) — Delta
Starting Dec. 17, United resumes service to Denver.
Services resuming March 11 include:
— Cincinnati (CVG) — Southwest
— Milwaukee (MKE) — Southwest
— Washington, DC (DCA) — Southwest
Nearly 4 million passengers
In November, 359,488 passengers traveled through Sarasota Bradenton International Airport, a 12% increase from the same month a year ago.
Passengers traveling through the airport year-to-date totaled 3.46 million, a 23% increase compared to 2021.
To handle the rapidly growing passenger traffic, airport officials have launched an estimated $165 million in expansion projects.
"This November we had more passenger travel through SRQ than any November in the history of the airport. Future airline flight schedules indicate record breaking months between now and next summer and we expect to end the calendar year with over 3.8 million passengers served," Piccolo said.
"With Southwest Airlines recently adding Buffalo, N.Y., and Providence, R.I. for March and April, our 11 airlines will now provide nonstop flights to 56 destinations from SRQ," Piccolo said.
The 12-month activity through November totals 3.8 million passengers, a 30% increase from the same period a year ago.
As recently as 2021, the record for annual passenger traffic at SRQ was about two million, set in 1990.
This story was originally published December 14, 2022 12:39 PM.
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