How the Expansion of Sarasota Bradenton Airport Could Handle Millions More Passengers

    Oct. 18, 2023
    Sarasota Bradenton International Airport could eventually accommodate 6.5 million to 7 million passengers a year with expansion work now underway, including the construction of a new ground-level terminal.

    By James A. Jones Jr.

    Source The Bradenton Herald (TNS)

    Oct. 17—MANATEE — Sarasota Bradenton International Airport could eventually accommodate 6.5 million to 7 million passengers a year with expansion work now underway, including the construction of a new ground-level terminal.

    Compare that to the record year that SRQ is having — 4.2 million passengers traveling through the terminal in the 12 months ending in September.

    That's a 13% increase compared to the previous 12-month period.

    A passenger load like that would trigger Phase Two of expansion plans, which would provide three additional gates and directly connect the ground-level terminal with the existing concourse, Rick Piccolo, the airport's president and CEO, said this week. .

    But first things first. The ground-level terminal with its five new gates is scheduled to open in December 2024 and would go a long way toward relieving SRQ's growing pains.

    Put another way, SRQ is the "most recovered airport" in the United States since the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

    SRQ passenger traffic is up 195.6% above what it was in 2019, according to the Simple Flying web page.

    On Monday, Mark Stuckey, the airport's executive vice president, briefed the Manatee County Tourist Development Council on what SRQ is doing to handle all the new passengers.

    Measures include quadrupling storage capacity at the airport's fuel farm, installing new escalators and a new baggage handling system, adding parking and building that new ground-level passenger terminal.

    The airport now has 11 airlines and 54 nonstop destinations. In 2017, the airport had six airlines and 10 nonstop destinations.

    In peak season, SRQ handles 160 commercial flights a day.

    The addition of Allegiant in 2018 helped kick off massive passenger growth at SRQ and was spurred on by Southwest Airlines' arrival in 2021.

    When the ground-level passenger terminal opens in late 2024, Allegiant will operate all five gates, opening up three gates in the existing terminal for new service.

    In the meantime, a parking study is underway, which should recommend a location for a proposed garage, which would be a first for SRQ.

    SRQ officials also hope to eventually add transcontinental flights to the West Coast and are in talks with an undisclosed carrier, Stuckey said.

    For September, 230,685 passengers traveled through the SRQ terminal, a 21% increase compared to 190,405 passengers in September 2022.

    Upcoming new service

    Nov. 2: Philadelphia/ Wilmington, Del. (ILG) — Avelo Airlines

    Upcoming returning service

    Oct. 16: Belleville/ St. Louis (BLV) — Allegiant Airlines

    Oct. 29: Washington, DC (IAD) — United Airlines

    Oct. 29: New York City (LGA) — JetBlue

    Oct. 31: Toronto, Canada (YYZ) — Air Canada

    Nov. 4: Denver (DEN) — United Airlines

    Nov. 17: Louisville (SDF) — Allegiant Airlines

    Nov. 18: Austin (AUS) — Allegiant Airlines

    Dec. 15: Cleveland (CLE) — Frontier Airlines

    Dec. 16: Detroit (DTW) — Delta Airlines

    Dec. 21: Houston (IAH) — United Airlines

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