2022 Was A Record-Breaking Year For Sarasota-Bradenton Airport

SARASOTA-BRADENTON, FL — The Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport (SRQ) saw a record-breaking year in 2022 when more travelers than ever — about 3.85 million — traveled through the airport.

This was a 21.6 percent increase in passengers over 2021, which saw about 3.16 million travelers, according to a news release from the airport.

In December, even with flight interruptions impacting travelers across the U.S. during the holiday season, the Sarasota-Bradenton airport saw about 378,000 travelers. That’s an 8.8 percent increase over December 2021, which accommodated about 347,000 passengers.

“Despite having 204 flight cancellations in December, partially due to Winter Storm Elliott, more passengers traveled through SRQ last month than any December in the history of the airport,” Rick Piccolo, president and CEO, said.

Passenger traffic has tripled at the airport over the past five years — from less than 1.2 million in 2017 to more than 3.8 million in 2022, he added.

He expects this growth to continue in 2023 with record-breaking passenger numbers each month.

“There continues to be great demand to live, work, and visit our boutique community, and its world-renowned beaches, partake in year-round outdoor activities offered, and experience arts and culture that you would normally only find in a larger city,” Piccolo said. “This is why it is imperative the Airport Authority continues to expand the airport with additional aircraft gates, concessions, parking and other amenities necessary to facilitate the increased demand impacting our community.”

The airport currently offers 56 nonstop destinations offered by the 11 airlines serving the area. This will also increase in the new year with new nonstop services starting this spring including:

• Avelo Airlines flights to/from Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina, starting Feb. 17
• Southwest Airlines flights to/from Buffalo, New York, starting March 11
• Southwest Airlines flights to/from Minneapolis, Minnesota, starting March 11
• Southwest Airlines flights to/from Providence, Rhode Island, starting March 11

Southwest also has several services returning to the airport, including:

• flights to/from Cincinnati, Ohio, starting March 11
• flights to/from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, starting March 11
• flights to/from Washington, D.C., starting March 11