While Sarasota Bradenton International Airport experienced a few months of passenger traffic declines following the hurricanes last year, the airport and the community are rebounding well.
In March and April, the airport experienced increases of 8% and 10.3% in passenger counts. Total seats over the next four months (June-September) are up between 5.4% to 9.57%, depending on the month. In the first quarter of 2025, passenger traffic was up 3.3%. Twelve new cities are available so far this year and the airport continues its effort to get additional destinations served. All this bodes well for the community’s recovery from the economic impact of last year’s storms.
The opening of new Terminal A in January, a new baggage processing system, added surface lots, and the continued addition of new food and retail facilities is also spurring patronage at the airport. While these major projects have been completed, the airport is moving forward on several new projects and planning new initiatives for the future.
In addition to the new projects underway by the Airport Authority, there are several private development projects progressing as well. A new general aviation facility is being built by Sheltair with a private investment exceeding $40 million. This will be the third facility known as a Fixed Base Operator (FBO), which provides a wide range of services to private aircraft operators.
New private hangar facilities exceeding 20,000 square feet each have either broken ground or are in permitting stages. A new general aviation U.S. Customs Inspection facility is also in process. Pilatus Aircraft has completed 60% plans on their new aircraft maintenance and sales facility and has already commenced due diligence of their second phase, which will see the construction of a manufacturing facility building PC-24 business jets. This facility is projected to employ over 500 people in skilled trades positions
The airport’s educational ecosystem also continues to progress. The Team Success Charter School is completing its first year of grade 5-12 education and already has a graduate going on to Embry Riddle Aeronautical University. They have begun the process to expand further to be a complete K-12 educational facility entirely on airport property with a special emphasis on aviation to expose these children to all the opportunities that exist at the airport.
Manatee County Schools is projected to start construction of their Airframe and Powerplant School this year and DaVinci Inflight Training Institute is due to invest $3.5 million to remodel an existing airport industrial building for their training facility.
All these new facilities create immediate construction jobs, longer term employment opportunities and life-changing career training for our residents. At the same time all these have very positive economic impact for the entire region.
On the airport front, multimillion-dollar airfield pavement projects are starting design and the first concepts for a new rental car and parking garage directly in front of the terminal is ready to get underway. These projects are estimated to cost over $200 million and will further enhance the level of convenience and ease of using SRQ.
Having just completed more than $200 million of infrastructure improvements in the last two years, these new initiatives demonstrate that the Airport Authority board and staff are turning their attention to the future needs of the airport and the community. The next phase of airport growth should enhance the passenger experience and bring added destinations, economic impact and job opportunities. We are particularly pleased that we can accomplish these things without taxing the community as our business operations are totally self-sufficient. Even when receiving capital improvement grants, which come from user fees on airline tickets and aviation fuel, the airport must generate matching funds from our business operations.
As we approach the midpoint of 2025, we are optimistic that our future path will see continued growth, facility improvements, and positive economic impact and jobs for our community. As always, we are grateful for the patronage and support we get from our community and hope that our users are happy with our efforts.
Rick Piccolo has been president and chief executive officer of Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport since 1995 and serves on various international aviation, business and charitable boards. He recently announced his retirement, effective June 30. He can be contacted at Fredrick.piccolo@srq-airport.com.
This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Airport Authority keeps focus on current, future needs of SRQ and community | Indicators
Reporting by Rick Piccolo / Sarasota Herald-Tribune
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