Photo courtesy SRQ Airport: A Delta flight takes off on Aug. 4.

Even with a hurricane disrupting traffic at the end of the month, Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport officials reported a 10% spike in August traffic.

The airport reported 261,091 passenger flights through SRQ Airport during the month of August, while officials reported 236,799 during the same month in 2022. 

That means 2,973,800 people boarded or deplaned at the Sarasota airport already this calendar year, with a 3 million milestone likely already passed in September. That means traffic year-to-date at the airport has spiked roughly 18% in 2023.

For the 12-month period ending in August, the airport just blew past 4 million, with 4,209,480 total passenger flights, up 12% compared to a similar period from September 2021 through August 2022, when upward of 3.7 million flew through SRQ Airport.

By comparison, the airport at the end of 2022 reported 3,847,606 total passenger flights, a total that seems destined to be eclipsed before the close of 2023.

“As the summer travel season draws to a close, the Sarasota Bradenton International Airport is thrilled to have reported an overall increase in total passengers for each summer month,” said SRQ Airport CEO Rick Piccolo. 

The strong month came despite traffic disruptions in late August. Hurricane Idalia forced the airport to close complete for parts of Aug. 29 and 30 because of Hurricane Idalia. The storm also disrupted hundreds of flights throughout Florida.

The passenger flight increase at SRQ regardless of temporary disruptions shows continued momentum at the local airport, which has seen an explosive boom in passenger flights since Florida’s re-opening during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

Over a five-year period, the airport has seen growing interest from carriers, and has gone from six airlines flying direct to 12 destinations to now 11 airlines connecting to 54 destinations.

But the growth hasn’t ceased. The airport in May broke ground on a new terminal, which will bring five more gates.

“The positive trajectory of passenger traffic at SRQ is expected to continue well into the fall season with the addition of new and returning flight services,” Piccolo said.

Later this year, the airport has already announced new routes. Avelo Airlines will launch new service to Wilmington Airport in Delaware, in the Philadelphia market, starting on Nov. 2.  

Additionally, Air Canada will restore international flights to Toronto starting on Oct. 31, and Frontier Airlines will return service to Cleveland, Ohio starting on Dec. 21.

Photo courtesy SRQ Airport: A Delta flight takes off on Aug. 4.