SRQ airport passenger traffic struggling to get back to half what it was in 2019
While passenger traffic at Sarasota Bradenton International has recovered more strongly than the national average, in August it remained at less than half what it was a year earlier.
For August, and July, too, passenger traffic at SRQ was at 43 percent of 2019 levels. There were 58,115 passengers in August 2020, compared to 135,467 passengers in August a year earlier.
Year-to-date figures show that the COVID-19 pandemic has significantly depressed passenger traffic, which is down 34 percent compared to 2019. To date this year, 834,545 passengers have used SRQ.
Nationwide the the Transportation Security Agency reported passenger traffic through security gates for August was at 29 percent of the 2019.
With COVID-19 cases decreasing in Florida, the airlines serving SRQ continue to bring back flights that were either temporarily suspended or were only seasonal. In September, Allegiant Air will resume service to two destinations: Des Moines, Iowa, and Rockford, Ill.
For October, JetBlue returns with flights to Boston, New York (JFK) and Newark, N.J. Allegiant resumes nonstop service to Nashville. United resumes nonstop service to Washington Dulles, and Air Canada starts up nonstop service to Toronto.
“We are happy to see travelers continue to safely use our airport as we slowly rebound from COVID-19. The safety of our passengers continues to be our top priority and we have implemented numerous layers of cleaning and sanitation measures to ensure those traveling through our facility are safe,” Rick Piccolo, airport president and CEO, said in a press release.
Some of these measures include plastic shields at customer service counters, touchless hand sanitizer stations, social distancing markers in queuing lines, courtesy thermal temperature scanners and increased janitorial staff to clean high-touch surfaces.
Employees, tenants, and passengers wear protective face coverings to help prevent the spread of COVID-19.
“With 36 nonstop destinations now available to book online, we hope that when travelers are ready to fly again, they will choose SRQ,” Piccolo said.
Until the arrival of the pandemic, SRQ was one of the fastest growing airports in the United States.
