Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport

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Sarasota / Bradenton International Airport

IATA: SRQ - ICAO: KSRQ
Summary
Airport type		Public
Operator		Sarasota Manatee Airport Authority
Serves		Sarasota, Florida
Elevation AMSL		31 ft (9.4 m)
Coordinates		27°23′43.63″N, 82°33′15.79″W
Runways
Direction	Length		Surface
Direction	ft	m	Surface
14/32	9,503	2,897	Asphalt
4/22	5,009	1,527	Asphalt

Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport (IATA: SRQ, ICAO: KSRQ) is an airport located in Sarasota, Florida and south of Bradenton, 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 larger and more widely known city. The airport is usually referred to locally as "SRQ" (the airport code).

1 Recent history
2 Facilities
3 Airlines
- 3.1 Main Terminal (B Gates)
- 3.2 Commuter Gates - (D Gates)
4 External links

[edit] 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.^[1]

Like many small American airports, Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport experienced financial woes in the wake of the after the September 11, 2001 attacks. Additionally, two airlines servicing SRQ, Canada 3000 and Canadian Airlines, went bankrupt.

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 2005 the airline serves five 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 has since either been cut back or discontinued.

[edit] Facilities

Sarasota/Bradenton International Airport covers 1,102 acres and has two runways:

Runway 14/32: 9,503 x 150 ft. (2,897 x 46 m), Surface: Asphalt
Runway 4/22: 5,009 x 150 ft. (1,527 x 46 m), Surface: Asphalt

[edit] Airlines

Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport has one terminal with two gate areas:

[edit] Main Terminal (B Gates)

Air Canada (Toronto-Pearson [seasonal])
AirTran Airways (Atlanta, Baltimore/Washington, Boston [seasonal], Chicago-Midway, Detroit [seasonal], Indianapolis [seasonal])
Continental Airlines (Newark)
- Continental Connection operated by Gulfstream International Airlines (Tampa)
- Continental Express operated by ExpressJet Airlines (Cleveland, Houston-Intercontinental)
Delta Air Lines (Atlanta)
- Delta Connection operated by Comair (Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky)
- Delta Connection operated by Shuttle America (Atlanta)
JetBlue Airways (New York-JFK)
Northwest Airlines (Detroit)
US Airways (Charlotte [seasonal], Washington-Reagan [seasonal])
- US Airways Express operated by PSA Airlines (Charlotte)
- US Airways Express operated by Republic Airlines (Washington-Reagan)