Sarasota-Bradenton airport sees first ‘slight dip’ in passengers in 18 months
In June, for the first time in more than 18 months, Sarasota Bradenton International Airport saw a decline in monthly passenger traffic compared to the same month a year ago.
For the month of June, 288,420 passengers traveled through the SRQ terminal, compared to 312,909 in the same month a year ago.
The 7.8% dip in passenger traffic was not unexpected, given airline pilot shortages, inflation and the spike in fuel costs said Rick Piccolo, the airport’s president and CEO.
“We are starting to see a slight dip in the number of flights scheduled for our summer months. However, the aircraft servicing our airport are operating with much higher passenger loads than last year.
“This follows a nationwide trend of flight reductions due to much higher fuel prices, airline staffing shortages, and fears of a recession,” Piccolo said.
In March, the price of a gallon of aviation fuel was $3.04 a gallon, compared to $1.85 a gallon a year earlier, the U.S. Department of Transportation reported.
SRQ remains on track to set a record with more than 3.5 million passengers served during the fiscal year that ends Sept. 30.
“For next fiscal year beginning in October, we expect our growth to continue as we welcome the return of Air Canada with flights to Toronto and Allegiant service to Minneapolis, Minn.,” Piccolo said.
Air Canada paused flights to the United States with the outbreak of the COVID pandemic and has not served SRQ in more than two years.
Passengers traveling through the airport year-to-date totaled 2,093,305 — compared to 1,459,691 year-to-date for 2021 — an increase of 43%.
Faced with sharply higher passenger traffic in recent years, airport officials have been scrambling to expand airport facilities, including adding a ground-level terminal, a new baggage handling system, additional parking and more at a cost of more than $70 million.
Design of the ground-level terminal is about 60% complete, and construction is forecast to start in 2023.
Preparatory utilities work is expected to start this year, Piccolo said Monday.
