Sarasota–Bradenton International Airport
Sarasota–Bradenton International Airport (IATA: SRQ, ICAO: KSRQ, FAA LID: SRQ)[4] is located within three jurisdictions: Sarasota County, the city limits of Sarasota, and Manatee County, in the U.S. state of Florida.[5] Owned by the Sarasota Manatee Airport Authority, it is 3 miles (4.8 km) north of Downtown Sarasota[3] and 6 miles (9.7 km) south of Bradenton.[6]
Sarasota–Bradenton International Airport | |||||||||||||||
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Summary | |||||||||||||||
Airport type | Public | ||||||||||||||
Owner | Sarasota Manatee Airport Authority | ||||||||||||||
Serves | Sarasota metropolitan area | ||||||||||||||
Location |
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Opened | 1942 | ||||||||||||||
Elevation AMSL | 30 ft / 9 m | ||||||||||||||
Coordinates | 27°23′44″N 082°33′16″W | ||||||||||||||
Website | flysrq | ||||||||||||||
Maps | |||||||||||||||
FAA diagram | |||||||||||||||
SRQ Location of airport in Florida / United States SRQ SRQ (the United States) | |||||||||||||||
Runways | |||||||||||||||
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Statistics (2022) | |||||||||||||||
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History
Origins
Before the Sarasota-Bradenton Airport was built, both Sarasota and Bradenton had their own airfields: Bradenton's Bradenton Airport and Sarasota's Lowe Field. Bradenton Airport was established somewhere between 1935 and 1937 being abandoned at an unknown point during World War 2.[7] Lowe Field would be dedicated on January 12, 1929[8] and would end up opening on March 12. It would be Sarasota's first municipal airport located on 160 acres (0.65 km2) of land west of what was then Oriente Avenue which is now known as Beneva Road and north of Fruitville Road. National Airlines would begin flying out of the airfield on August 4, 1937.[9] Flights were often canceled because the landing strip got too wet to land on which led to National Airlines leaving later that year after Sarasota could not pay for building concrete runways. During World War II, Lowe Field was used by the Civil Air Patrol. After the war, most civilian operations at Lowe Field went to the Sarasota-Bradenton Airport with the exception of student pilots, mosquito control programs, and crop dusters. The airport continued operating until 1961 when the owner sold the land.[8]
The airport was considered a replacement for Lowe Field's poor conditions and low capacity. Construction on the Sarasota-Bradenton Airport started in 1939 and opened the following year with CCC and WPA assistance at a cost of $1 million. In May 1941, the Sarasota Manatee Airport Authority was created.[9][10]
Name origins
In the 1940s, SRQ was known by its two-character designation, RS. By 1948, growth in aviation demand prompted IATA to coordinate the assignment of three-character codes. The airport initially received the designation "SSO", a short-lived code subject to misinterpretation as the international distress signal, SOS. SRQ was chosen, with "Q" serving as filter text.[11] The airport's IATA airport code, "SRQ", is used as a general nickname for the city of Sarasota and Sarasota area, as exemplified by media outlets like SRQ Magazine,[12] WSRQ radio,[13] and numerous local businesses in the area that include SRQ in their names.
World War II
In 1942, with the United States entering World War 2, the airport was leased to the Army Air Corps and became known as the Sarasota Army Airfield. The Army Air Corps later added 250 acres making the airport 870 acres. The 97th Bombardment Group was the first group, being transferred from MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa for training with B-17 Flying Fortresses staying from March to May. The 97th as well did construction and maintenance, including the construction of barracks and runway repair.[14]
After the 97th left, the 92d Bombardment Group arrived for training and did construction work also.[14] In June the base was designated as a sub base changing its focus from bombers to fighters because the runways could not withstand the bomber's weight. The 69th Fighter Squadron transferred to the airfield from Drew Army Airfield to train with P-39 Airacobras. Sarasota had sub bases in: Bartow, St. Petersburg, Fort Myers, and Tampa, while Immokalee, Lake Wales, Punta Gorda and Winter Haven served as auxiliary fields for the base.[15] Training was conducted as well on the base, with 70 pilots graduating on average every 30 days.[14]
On July 25, 1945, a Douglas TC-47B that left out of Sarasota to Lake Charles on a navigation training session crashed after going through a thunderstorm north of Tampa. All 13 crew members died onboard. The aircraft crashed roughly 20 miles northeast of Tampa.[16]
After 3 years of use, the base officially closed and was transferred to civilian usage in 1947.[17] Despite its transfer, the airport and its facilities deteriorated until the Florida Legislature passed the 1955 Sarasota Manatee Airport Authority Act. This act gave the airport more legal power and guidelines to operate.[18][19]
Post–World War II expansion
National Airlines was SRQ's first airline, moving from Lowe's Field by 1947. Cancer research institute; Jackson Memorial Laboratories considered establishing a laboratory on airport property. The extent of the plan is not known.[20]
By April 1957, OAG showed six NA departures a day. Construction started on a terminal building designed by Paul Rudolph and locally known architect, John Cromwell on August 18, 1958 and opening on May 2 the next year.[21] with: a control tower, ticketing area, offices, gift shop, coffee shop, and a balcony for passengers to watch their planes arrive. In its opening year of 1959, the airport had roughly 22,000 annual passengers. Eastern arrived in January 1961, along with an air mail service as well.[22] The airport's first jet flights were Eastern 727s in winter 1964–65 (though the longest runway was 5006 ft for a few years after that). By the 1960s the airport along with Eastern and National Airlines, welcomed two commuter airlines: Executive in 1964 and Florida Air in 1968. Executive established Sarasota as a maintenance base and later their headquarters from 1968 to 1971 and flew flights to Tampa and Fort Myers.[9]
1970s
By 1970, the airport had five commercial airlines: Eastern, National, Executive, Florida, and for a brief period, Mackey. Despite its continued growth through the 1970s, many airlines services were intermittent. Mackey and Florida both left in early 1970. Florida returned four years later and simultaneously established Sarasota as its headquarters. When Executive Airlines went bankrupt in 1971, it was replaced by Shawnee Airlines for a year and later returned in 1977.[23] On March 30, 1974, an armed man would attempt to hijack a Boeing 727 from National Airlines. He would bring two hostages with him and demand that he be flown out of the area. He would be unsuccessful as a maintenance worker onboard disarmed him. He ended up being captured about 4 hours afterwards receiving two concurrent sentences with one lasting for 15 years and another for 25.[24][25] A commuter airline named Sun Airlines had flights to several destinations from mid-1974 to mid-1975. The latter part of the decade introduced North Central Airlines in 1978, and Delta the following year.[23]
The Airport Authority would also change during the 1970s as well. In 1970, voters in Manatee and Sarasota counties decided that the authority should be elected instead of appointed, and state legislation was passed affirming this in 1972.[26]
1976 presidential election
During the 1976 presidential election, several candidates would visit and/or fly into the airport. On February 23, 1976, Gerald R. Ford and his family flew into the airport on Air Force One while visiting Sarasota on a trip across Florida. He briefly took questions from the press before leaving to go to a hotel. The following day he went to a church service and a barbecue. He gave a brief press conference before flying out of the airport to Tampa.[27] Next month, on March 2, Jimmy Carter would hold a press conference at the airport before speaking to the public at adjacent New College.[28] Likely that same day, Henry "Scoop" Jackson another presidential candidate running on the Democratic ticket, would host a campaign rally at the airport.[29] George Wallace, also visited the airport two days later on March 4.[30][31]
1980s & 1990s
In the late 1970s and early 1980s, there was a controversial proposal to move the airport by both Sarasota County and Manatee County due to airport overcrowding. An opinion poll was held in 1970 with 66% of voters voting against a new airport.[32] The proposal suggested making the facility into a general aviation airport and constructing a replacement east of future Interstate 75 within Lakewood Ranch.[33][34] Opposition to the airport would also come from a local environmentalist, Gloria Rains, who was the head and founder of ManaSota-88, an environmental group. Rains would later on be opposed to the development of Lakewood Ranch as well but did like that natural features in the area were preserved.[35][36] However, the airport authority struck down the idea in 1985.[37] A facility for commuter flights would be added onto the airport in 1983. Instead of building a new airport, the airport's facilities, in general, would be expanded. Work began in 1987 to build a new airport terminal along with areas for parking, ramp space and landscaping. The new terminal building would open on October 29, 1989.[26] During the first day the new airport terminal was in operation, the Sarasota Herald-Tribune reported that passengers and airline staff liked it. On its first day of operations the airport would still be under construction and several problems were encountered: the computer system on the upstairs level security checkpoint area would have glitches along with problems being reported with the terminal's air conditioning.[38] The rest of the project would be finished by 1990.[26]
The airport was designated port of entry status in 1992.[39]
September 11 attacks
Air Force One was at the airport on September 11, 2001. George W. Bush was at the Emma E. Booker Elementary School in Sarasota when Andrew Card first informed him of the September 11, 2001 attacks, at 9:05 AM. Bush returned to the airport. The 747 taxied out at 9:54 AM and took off from runway 14 at 9:55 AM flying first to Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana.[40]
2003 – present
In 2003, AirTran Airways began service at SRQ to Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport, and Baltimore–Washington International Airport, and by 2011 the airline served six U.S. cities nonstop from SRQ.
In January 2012, AirTran Airways announced that it would drop SRQ on August 12, 2012, as part of its merger with Southwest Airlines.[41] Despite this, Southwest Airlines began service to SRQ in February 2021.[42]
2020s and late 2010s
Construction on a new aircraft control tower would start in November 2015 and was finished in 2017.[43] Starting in the late 2010s the airport would start to rapidly grow in passenger traffic in a move mostly credited to Allegiant beginning to service the airport. Prior to the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic the airport would be one of the fastest growing in the United States.[44]
On December 19, 2019, a GMC pickup truck crashed into the baggage claim causing $250,000 in damage.[45]
The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in air traffic significantly declining similar to other airports in the United States[46] but would be the least impacted airports nationally.[44] Despite a decline in the number of passengers several new flights were added/announced.[47] Elite Airways would expand operations at the airport in 2021 when they started nonstop flights to White Plains, Martha's Vineyard, Nantucket and Portland, Maine on July 2.[48] Passenger numbers in 2021 would end up being 70% higher than before the pandemic[44] and would end up breaking a one-year passenger traffic record set in 1990 in a span of 8 months.[49]
To accommodate for recent growth, a new terminal named Concourse A (while the current/original terminal will be called Concourse B) will be built possibly by 2024 and will contain five gates. The new terminal will increase passenger capacity by 2.5 million.[50]
Facilities
The airport covers 1,102 acres (446 ha) at an elevation of 30 feet (9.1 m). It has two asphalt runways: 14/32 is 9,500 by 150 feet (2,896 x 46 m) and 04/22 is 5,009 by 150 feet (1,527 x 46 m).[3][51]
In the year ending November 30, 2017, the airport had 101,311 aircraft operations, an average of 278 per day: 80% general aviation, 11% airline, 8% air taxi, and 2% military. 272 aircraft were then based at this airport: 69% single-engine, 18% jet, 7% multi-engine, 6% helicopter, and <1% ultra-light.[3]
The National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems (NPIAS) for 2023–2027 categorized it a "small hub" airport since it enplanes 0.05 percent to 0.25 percent of total U.S. passenger enplanements.[52][53]
Terminals
The airport contains one terminal with a total of 13 gates. Both Terminal B & Terminal D opened on October 29, 1989. However, Terminal D was closed in the early 2000's. It was used exclusively for ground-boarded commuter flights by airlines including Comair, American Eagle, and Air Sunshine. Its entrance was at the east end of the main ticketing area and it had its own security checkpoint and baggage claim. The holding area was walled off from the ticketing area upon its closure and later the space was converted to other uses including a large conference room.
Terminal B is the main terminal at the airport and contains 13 gates.
On March 27, 2023, the airport broke ground on a new 75,300 square foot passenger terminal. The terminal is expected to contain 5 additional gates, and is scheduled for completion in December of 2024.[54]
Airlines and destinations
Passenger
Destinations map
Destinations map |
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Sarasota/Bradenton |
Statistics
Airline market share
Rank | Airline | Passengers | Share |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Southwest | 1,073,000 | 26.37% |
2 | Allegiant | 836,000 | 20.56% |
3 | Delta | 800,000 | 19.66% |
4 | American | 558,000 | 13.73% |
5 | United | 333,000 | 8.19% |
Others | 468,000 | 11.50% |
Top domestic destinations
Rank | City | Passengers | Carriers |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Atlanta, Georgia | 383,120 | Delta, Southwest |
2 | Baltimore, Maryland | 175,720 | Allegiant, Southwest |
3 | Charlotte, North Carolina | 169,020 | American |
4 | Newark, New Jersey | 113,450 | United |
5 | Nashville, Tennessee | 89,780 | Allegiant, Southwest |
6 | Chicago–Midway, Illinois | 78,780 | Southwest |
7 | Chicago–O'Hare, Illinois | 56,570 | American, United |
8 | Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota | 55,250 | Allegiant, Delta, Southwest, Sun Country |
9 | Boston, Massachusetts | 54,450 | Allegiant, Jet Blue |
10 | New York–LaGuardia, New York | 51,510 | Delta, JetBlue, Southwest |
References
- "CY 2021 Commercial Service Airports, Rank Order" (PDF). September 16, 2022. Retrieved February 10, 2023.
- "SRQ Passenger Data for 2022". flysrq.com. Retrieved March 12, 2023.
- FAA Airport Form 5010 for SRQ PDF. Federal Aviation Administration. Effective December 30, 2021.
- "IATA Airport code Search (SRQ: Sarasota / Bradenton)". International Air Transport Association. Retrieved December 31, 2012.
- "Financial Statements with Management's Discussion and Analysis including Supplementary and Compliance Reports and Schedules For the years ended September 30, 2017 and September 30, 2016" (PDF). SRQ Airport. Sarasota Manatee Airport Authority. January 18, 2018. p. 24. Retrieved July 15, 2019.
- "Distance and heading from Bradenton (27°29'N 82°35'W) to KSRQ (27°23'44"N 82°33'16"W)". Great Circle Mapper. Retrieved December 31, 2012.
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- "WSRQ Sarasota 98.9 FM 106.9 FM 1220 AM". Sarasota Talk Radio. Retrieved December 21, 2018.
- "Sarasota-Bradenton Airport - Markers: Sarasota History". Sarasota History Alive!. Retrieved December 31, 2021.
- "Sarasota Army Airfield". Museum of Florida History. Retrieved December 31, 2021.
- Ranter, Harro. "ASN Aircraft accident Douglas TC-47B (DC-3) 44-76612 Tampa, FL". aviation-safety.net. Retrieved November 11, 2019.
- "Florida's World War II Memorial". Museums of Florida History. Archived from the original on June 24, 2016. Retrieved December 21, 2018.
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- "House Bill No. 271". Florida Department of State: State Library and Archives of Florida. June 26, 2003. Retrieved February 2, 2019.
- "AIRPORT AWAITS LABORATORIES' REPLY TO OFFER". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. November 11, 1947. Retrieved February 12, 2020 – via Google News Archive Search.
- "Modern Air Terminal To Open Today". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. May 2, 1959. p. 1. Retrieved August 27, 2019 – via Google News Archive.
- "Cachet Stamp for Initial EAL Flight". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. January 10, 1961. Retrieved April 20, 2019 – via Google News Archive Search.
- "Sarasota Bradenton Airport in the late 1970s". Sunshine Skies. Retrieved June 22, 2019.
- "PART VIII CHRONOLOGIES OF AIR-TRANSPORT EVENTS: Item 17. AIRCRAFT PIRACY "HIJACKING" LATEST TWO YEARS". Handbook of Airline Statistics. U.S. Civil Aeronautics Board, Office of Carrier Accounts and Statistics, Research and Statistics Division. 1975. p. 180. Retrieved December 31, 2021 – via Google Books.
- "ASN Aircraft accident Boeing 727 registration unknown Sarasota-Bradenton Airport, FL (SRQ)". AviationSafetyNetwork. Retrieved December 31, 2021.
- "History of the Sarasota Bradenton International Airport". SRQ Airport. Retrieved December 31, 2021.
- "2/24 - 29/76 - Florida (1)" (PDF). fordlibrarymuseum.gov.
- Williams, Gary (February 25, 1976). "Carter Planning Visit to Sarasota Tuesday". Sarasota Journal. Retrieved December 25, 2019 – via Google News Archive.
- "Henry "Scoop" Jackson Supporters". Manatee County Public Library System: Digital Collection (photograph). March 3, 1976. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
- "Governor George Wallace at SRQ". Manatee County Public Library System: Digital Collection. Retrieved December 25, 2019.
- "Governor George Wallace supporter". Manatee County Public Library System: Digital Collection. March 4, 1976. Retrieved December 25, 2019.
- "Sarasota Herald-Tribune - Google News Archive Search". news.google.com. Retrieved August 29, 2019.
- Kohlman, Betty (March 14, 1978). "Fate of Sarasota-Bradenton Airport may turn on a 2-county referendum". St. Petersburg Times. Retrieved March 11, 2017 – via Google News Archive.
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- "FLORIDA'S TWENTIETH CENTURY WOMEN ENVIRONMENTALISTS". League of Women Voters of Palm Beach County. 2020. Retrieved January 15, 2022.
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- "Authority Votes to Conduct Study For Location of Reliever Airport". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. June 25, 1985. Retrieved February 14, 2019.
- Allen, Patty (October 30, 1989). "Airport Terminal Gets Rave Reviews". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. p. 1A & 6A. Retrieved January 15, 2022 – via Google News Archive.
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- "USA TODAY Education - Sept. 11 Resources". usatoday30.usatoday.com. Archived from the original on February 24, 2011.
- Jacobs, Karen (January 20, 2012). "Southwest says AirTran to exit six airports". Reuters.
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- Warfield, Andrew (May 12, 2022). "New concourse is just the start of SRQ expansion plans". YourObserver.com. Retrieved August 12, 2022.
- Staff. "Surveillance video shows driver of pickup truck smashing through wall and into baggage claim at Sarasota, Fla. Airport". WWSB. Retrieved December 25, 2019.
- "SRQ Passenger Traffic for August at 43 Percent of 2019 Level". Sarasota Magazine. September 14, 2020. Retrieved December 22, 2020.
- "Airlines Bring Back, Add Flights at SRQ Airport". Sarasota Magazine. June 22, 2020. Retrieved December 22, 2020.
- "Elite Airways Announces New Destinations at SRQ". Sarasota Magazine. May 19, 2021. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
- "SRQ Airport Breaks Calendar Year Passenger Record". Sarasota Magazine. SagaCity Media. September 13, 2021. Retrieved January 1, 2022.
- Warfield, Andrew (May 19, 2022). "Airport lands $72 million project to address passenger traffic surge". Business Observer. Retrieved August 12, 2022.
- "SRQ airport data at skyvector.com". skyvector.com. Retrieved September 11, 2022.
- "2023–2027 NPIAS Report, Appendix A" (PDF). Federal Aviation Administration. p. 32. Retrieved March 12, 2023.
- "2023–2027 NPIAS Report, Appendix B" (PDF). Federal Aviation Administration. p. 19. Retrieved March 12, 2023.
- https://www.sarasotamagazine.com/travel-and-outdoors/2023/03/srq-breaks-ground-on-new-five-gate-terminal-expansion
- "Nonstop destinations". SRQ Airport. Retrieved January 17, 2020.
- "Allegiant Interactive Route Map". Archived from the original on July 17, 2017. Retrieved March 7, 2018.
- "Flight schedules and notifications". Archived from the original on February 2, 2017. Retrieved January 7, 2017.
- "Avelo Airlines Announces Historic Expansion at Greater Philly's Wilmington Airport to San Juan, Puerto Rico and Sarasota-Bradenton, Fla". PRNewswire. Retrieved August 10, 2023.
- "Destinations".
- "Breeze Announces 22 New Routes from 20 Cities; Adds Portland, Maine as New Destination". Breeze Airways (Press release). News Direct Corp. February 14, 2023. Retrieved February 14, 2023.
- "Breeze Airways".
- "FLIGHT SCHEDULES". Archived from the original on June 21, 2015. Retrieved January 7, 2017.
- "Frontier Airlines Announces Major Domestic and International Expansion of Service". Retrieved August 23, 2023.
- "Frontier". Archived from the original on September 12, 2017. Retrieved January 7, 2017.
- "JetBlue Airlines Timetable". Archived from the original on July 13, 2013. Retrieved January 29, 2017.
- "Check Flight Schedules". Archived from the original on February 2, 2017. Retrieved June 16, 2022.
- "Route Map & Flight Schedule". Archived from the original on August 15, 2018. Retrieved August 14, 2018.
- "Timetable". Archived from the original on January 28, 2017. Retrieved January 7, 2017.
- "Sarasota, FL: Sarasota/Bradenton International Airport (SRQ)". Bureau of Transportation Statistics. Retrieved May 6, 2023.
- "OST_R | BTS | Transtats". Bureau of Transportation Statistics. United States Department of Transportation. Retrieved May 6, 2023.
External links
- Sarasota Bradenton International Airport, official site
- Sarasota/Bradenton Regional Airport 1959–1989 at the Wayback Machine (archived October 14, 2008)
- History of Airline Service at Sarasota 1930s-1960s
- Sarasota Bradenton Airport in the 1970s, An extensive history of airline service
- Sarasota Bradenton International Airport, Florida Like A Pro
- FAA Airport Diagram (PDF), effective October 5, 2023
- FAA Terminal Procedures for SRQ, effective October 5, 2023
- Resources for this airport:
- AirNav airport information for KSRQ
- ASN accident history for SRQ
- FlightAware airport information and live flight tracker
- NOAA/NWS weather observations: current, past three days
- SkyVector aeronautical chart for KSRQ
- FAA current SRQ delay information