Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport

Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport (IATA: SRQ, ICAO: KSRQ, FAA LID: SRQ) is an airport located between Bradenton and Sarasota, Florida. The airport is shared by both Manatee County (airfield) and Sarasota County (terminal). Most airlines refer to the airport on destination maps and flight status displays as just "Sarasota", as that is the more widely known city. The airport is usually referred to locally as "SRQ" (the airport code). A large portion of the airport's commercial airline service occurs during the winter and spring months, as the area is a popular tourist destination and seasonal home for snowbirds during the winter and spring months.

Recent history

Air Force One was at the airport on September 11, 2001. George W. Bush was at the Emma E. Booker Elementary School in Sarasota when Andrew Card first informed him of the September 11, 2001 attacks at 9:05 AM. Bush returned to the airport. It taxied at 9:54 AM and lifted off at 9:55 AM flying first to Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana.^[2]

Like many mid-sized American airports, Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport experienced financial woes in the wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks. Additionally, two airlines servicing SRQ, Canada 3000 and Canadian Airlines, ceased operations, the first bankrupt and the second acquired by Air Canada.

However, in 2003, AirTran Airways began service as the result of a nationwide marketing poll sponsored by the airline. The poll's results indicated that Sarasota-Bradenton was one of several smaller airports that AirTran's customers would prefer the airline service. Consequently, AirTran added service to Atlanta-Hartsfield/Jackson, and Baltimore-Washington International, and as of 2011 the airline serves six U.S. destinations with non-stop flights from SRQ.

Financial concerns were faced again in September 2005, when Delta Air Lines, the carrier with the largest market share out of SRQ [1], filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. While initially there was great concern regarding Delta's bankruptcy filing's effect on the financial stability of the airport, especially if Delta were to have reduced local operations, in fact Delta has since announced new service out of SRQ, which included expanded service to Atlanta, and new service to New York's LaGuardia Airport, and Boston's Logan International Airport. All of that service was cut back or discontinued, but new winter/spring seasonal service to Boston and LaGuardia was recently announced by Delta.

Governance

The current President, CEO is Frederick "Rick" J. Piccolo. The airport is governed by the Sarasota Manatee Airport Authority. The board is made up of six, governor appointed individuals, three from Sarasota County and three from Manatee county. The reason for the split is that the airport actually has portions in both counties.

Facilities and aircraft

Sarasota/Bradenton International Airport covers an area of 1,102 acres (446 ha) which contains two asphalt paved runways: 14/32 measuring 9,500 x 150 ft (2,896 x 46 m) and 4/22 measuring 5,009 x 150 ft (1,527 x 46 m).^[1]

For the 12-month period ending October 31, 2006, the airport had 163,870 aircraft operations, an average of 448 per day: 82% general aviation, 9% scheduled commercial, 7% air taxi, 2% military. At that time there were 266 aircraft based at this airport: 71% single-engine, 17% multi-engine, 9% jet and 3% helicopter.^[1]

Aircraft Operations

Enplanements are defined as a revenue generating passenger boarding an aircraft.^[3]

Based Aircraft

Single Engine 171, Multi Engine 33, Jet 34, Total 238, Helicopters 9, Gliders 0, Military 0^[4]

Airlines and destinations

Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport has a main terminal with gates B1-B14:

Main Terminal (B Gates)

World War II

Leased to the Army Air Corps in early 1942, the newly constructed Sarasota Bradenton Airport became Sarasota Army Airfield. Initially a 620-acre (2.5 km²) facility, the Army added 250 acres (1.0 km²) to the site in the course of its use. The 97th Bombardment Group transferred in March 1942 from MacDill in Tampa to begin training on the B-17 Flying Fortress. Designated a sub-base of MacDill in June of that year, the base soon changed focus from bombers to fighters. Because the runways could not withstand the weight of the bombers, the 69th Fighter Squadron transferred to Sarasota from Drew Army Airfield in Tampa to train on P-39 Airacobras.

Sub-bases to Sarasota AAF were located at Bartow, St. Petersburg, Fort Myers, and Tampa, while airfields at Immokalee, Lake Wales, Punta Gorda and Winter Haven served as auxiliary fields.

See also

• Florida World War II Army Airfields

References

 This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the Air Force Historical Research Agency.

External links

• Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport, official site
• Sarasota-Bradenton Regional Airport 1959-1989
• FAA Airport Diagram (PDF), effective 15 December 2011
• FAA Terminal Procedures for SRQ, effective 15 December 2011
• Resources for this airport:
  • AirNav airport information for KSRQ
  • ASN accident history for SRQ
  • FlightAware airport information and live flight tracker
  • NOAA/NWS latest weather observations
  • SkyVector aeronautical chart for KSRQ
  • FAA current SRQ delay information