Sarasota–Bradenton International Airport

Sarasota–Bradenton International Airport

USGS 1998 orthophoto
IATA: SRQ – ICAO: KSRQ – FAA LID: SRQ
Summary
Airport type Public
Owner Sarasota Manatee Airport Authority
Serves Sarasota / Bradenton, Florida
Location Manatee / Sarasota counties
Elevation AMSL 30 ft / 9 m
Coordinates 27°23′44″N 082°33′16″W / 27.39556°N 82.55444°WCoordinates: 27°23′44″N 082°33′16″W / 27.39556°N 82.55444°W
Website srq-airport.com
Maps

FAA airport diagram
SRQ

Location of airport in Florida

Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
14/32 9,500 2,896 Asphalt
4/22 5,009 1,527 Asphalt
Statistics (2013)
Aircraft operations 103,411
Based aircraft 247

Sarasota–Bradenton International Airport (IATA: SRQ[2], ICAO: KSRQ, FAA LID: SRQ) is a public airport in Sarasota County (terminal) and Manatee County (airfield), Florida. Owned by the Sarasota Manatee Airport Authority, it is three miles north of Sarasota (Sarasota County)[1] and six miles south of Bradenton (Manatee County).[3]

The National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015 called it a primary commercial service airport since it has over 10,000 passenger boardings per year.[4] Federal Aviation Administration records say the airport had 657,157 enplanements in calendar year 2011, 2% less than in 2010.[5]

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 referred to locally as "SRQ" (the airport code). Much of the airport's airline service occurs during winter and spring, as the area is a popular tourist destination and home for snowbirds during winter and spring.

The airport's IATA airport code, "SRQ", is used as a shorthand nickname for the city of Sarasota and Sarasota area in general, as exemplified by media outlets like SRQ Magazine,[6] WSRQ radio,[7] and numerous local businesses in the area that include SRQ in their names.

History

SRQ's first airline was National, in 1947; the April 1957 OAG shows six departures a day. Eastern arrived a few years later and the airport's first jet flights were Eastern 727s in winter 1964–65 (though the longest runway was 5,006 ft or 1,526 m for a few years after that).

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.[8]

Like many American airports, Sarasota–Bradenton International Airport experienced financial woes after the September 11, 2001 attacks. Two airlines at SRQ, Canada 3000 and Canadian Airlines, ceased operations, the first bankrupt and the second acquired by Air Canada.

In 2003 AirTran Airways began service as the result of a nationwide marketing poll sponsored by the airline. The poll indicated that Sarasota–Bradenton was one of several smaller airports that AirTran's customers would like the airline to serve. AirTran added service to Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport, and Baltimore–Washington International Airport, and by 2011 the airline served six U.S. cities non-stop from SRQ.

In September 2005 Delta Air Lines, the carrier with the largest market share out of SRQ,[9] filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. While initially there was 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, with more flights to Atlanta and new service to New York LaGuardia Airport and Boston. All of that service was cut back or discontinued, but Delta recently announced new winter/spring seasonal service to Boston and LaGuardia.

In January 2012 AirTran Airways announced that it would drop SRQ on August 12, 2012 as part of its merger with Southwest.[10]

The "Q" in SRQ

During the years before and after World War II, SRQ was known by its two-character designation, RS. By 1948, growth in aviation demand prompted IATA to coordinate the assignment of three-character codes. The airport initially received the designation "SSO", a short-lived designation, as it was subject to misinterpretation as the international distress signal, SOS. SRQ was chosen, with "Q" serving as filler text, in the same manner that "X" serves as the filler suffix for LAX.[11]

Governance

The current President, CEO is Fredrick "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.[12]

Facilities

Sarasota Bradenton International Airport covers 1,102 acres (446 ha) at an elevation of 30 feet (9 m). It has two asphalt runways: 14/32 is 9,500 by 150 feet (2,896 x 46 m) and 4/22 is 5,009 by 150 feet (1,527 x 46 m).[1]

In 2013 the airport had 103,411 aircraft operations, average 283 per day: 78% general aviation, 13% airline, 7% air taxi, and 2% military. 247 aircraft were then based at this airport: 69% single-engine, 14% jet, 13% multi-engine, and 4% helicopter.[1]

Annual enplanements

The table lists annual enplanements from the Federal Aviation Administration's Terminal Area Forecast 2011.[13] An enplanement is a revenue generating passenger boarding an aircraft.[14]

Year Air Carrier Commuter International Total
2004 430,554 123,036 0 553,590
2005 496,976 135,148 3,144 635,268
2006 514,406 159,983 12,828 687,217
2007 608,983 170,184 8,805 787,972
2008 577,942 186,256 9,013 773,211
2009 507,162 153,639 9,904 670,705
2010 514,986 134,339 10,980 660,305

Airlines and destinations

SRQ
ORD
LGA/JFK/EWR
DTW
ATL
CLT
DCA
BOS
Locations of commercial airline destinations from Sarasota–Bradenton International Airport

Sarasota–Bradenton International Airport has a main terminal with gates B1–B14.

Main terminal (B gates)

Airlines Destinations
Air Canada Toronto-Pearson
Delta Air Lines Atlanta
Seasonal: Detroit, New York-LaGuardia
Delta Connection Seasonal: New York-JFK, New York-LaGuardia
JetBlue Airways New York-JFK, New York-LaGuardia
Seasonal: Boston
United Airlines Chicago-O'Hare
United Express Seasonal: Chicago-O'Hare, Newark
US Airways
operated by American Airlines 		Seasonal: Charlotte
US Airways Express Charlotte, Washington-National

Statistics

Carrier shares for (Jan 2014 - Dec 2014)[15]
Carrier   Passengers (arriving and departing)
Delta
639,000(55.28%)
JetBlue
215,000(18.57%)
Mesa
131,000(11.35%)
United
77,130(6.68%)
Air Wisconsin
28,750(2.49%)
Other
65,230(5.65%)
Top domestic destinations (Jan 2014 - Dec2014) [15]
Rank Airport Passengers Airline
1 Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International (ATL) 289,000 Delta
2 Charlotte/Douglas International (CLT) 77,000 US Airways
3 New York City LaGuardia Airport (LGA) 73,000 Delta, JetBlue
4 New York City John F. Kennedy International (JFK) 47,000 Delta, JetBlue
5 Chicago O'Hare International (ORD) 45,000 United
6 Washington Reagan National (DCA) 21,000 US Airways
7 Boston Logan International (BOS) 18,000 JetBlue
8 Detroit Metropolitan (DTW) 8,000 Delta

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 FAA Airport Master Record for SRQ (Form 5010 PDF). Federal Aviation Administration. Effective November 15, 2012.
  2. ↑ "IATA Airport code Search (SRQ: Sarasota / Bradenton)". International Air Transport Association. Retrieved December 31, 2012.
  3. ↑ "Distance and heading from Bradenton (27°29'N 82°35'W) to KSRQ (27°23'44"N 82°33'16"W)". Great Circle Mapper. Retrieved December 31, 2012.
  4. ↑ "2011–2015 NPIAS Report, Appendix A" (PDF, 2.03 MB). National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems. Federal Aviation Administration. October 4, 2010.
  5. ↑ "Enplanements for CY 2011" (PDF, 1.7 MB). CY 2011 Passenger Boarding and All-Cargo Data. Federal Aviation Administration. October 9, 2012.
  6. ↑
  7. ↑
  8. ↑ Pool news report by Judy Keen and Jay Carney on September 11, 2001, posted on USA Today Sept. 11 Resources
  9. ↑
  10. ↑ Jacobs, Karen (January 20, 2012). "Southwest says AirTran to exit six airports". Reuters.
  11. ↑ http://www.srq-airport.com/frequently-asked-questions/faq.aspx?alttemplate=mobile
  12. ↑ "Airport History". srq-airport.com. Sarasota Manatee Airport Authority. Retrieved February 26, 2013.
  13. ↑ "APO Terminal Area Forecast 2011". Federal Aviation Administration. Retrieved December 31, 2012.
  14. ↑ "About TAF (Terminal Area Forecast)". Federal Aviation Administration. Retrieved December 31, 2012.
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 "Sarasota/Bradenton, FL: Sarasota/Bradenton International (SRQ)". Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS), Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA), U.S. Department of Transportation. May 2014.

External links