SRQ Airport Sees 12 Percent Increase In Travelers During December

SARASOTA, FL — Passenger traffic at the Sarasota Bradenton International Airport increased 12 percent in December over the previous month, the airport said in a news release. December passengers totaled 119,114 compared to 106,195 passengers in November.

Compared to December 2019, passenger traffic was 52 percent of the 2019 level of 228,015, though, the airport said. End-of-year figures show airport passenger traffic down 37 percent with 1,236,986 passengers using the airport in 2020 compared to 1,966,950 passengers in 2019.

The coronavirus pandemic is the reason for the overall decline in traffic, Rick Piccolo, president and CEO, said. “For 2020, COVID-19 brought many challenges to the airport and airline industry. SRQ started the year with record-breaking growth, only to see traffic slow to less than 10,000 passengers for the month of April. Our parking lots went from having up to 2,000 cars parked per day to less than 50.”

During this down time, SRQ implemented new cleaning and safety measures, and also expedited construction projects that would be hard to complete when the airport was busier, he added. This included repaving the short- and long-term parking lots, redesigning the screening checkpoint and accelerating airfield construction projects.

Through marketing initiatives and a partnership with Visit Sarasota County, the airport has been able to add new routes and destinations, as well as a new airline – Southwest Airlines – to SRQ’s offerings, Piccolo said.

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He also expects passenger traffic to increase in the new year.

“Future scheduled service that is currently loaded in the airline reservation system shows an increase in seats into and out of our market to be at levels near pre-COVID,” he said. “With the vaccine currently being distributed worldwide, and SRQ now offering service on 10 airlines to 43 destinations, we are hopeful that 2021 will be a much better year for both the airport and the community.”

Upcoming service start dates at SRQ include:

• Feb. 6: Philadelphia and Chicago (Frontier Airlines; returning seasonal services)
• Feb. 11: Houston (United Airlines; new service)
• Feb. 13: Denver (United; returning seasonal service)
• Feb. 14: Baltimore, Chicago, Houston and Nashville (Southwest; new services)
• March 6: Trenton (Frontier; returning seasonal service)
• March 13: Columbus, Indianapolis and Pittsburgh (Southwest; new seasonal services)
• May 27: Peoria, Illinois (Allegiant; new seasonal service)