Airport adds nonstop route ahead of the holidays

Amid all the new changes of a new airline and expanded checkpoints at the Sarasota Bradenton International Airport is a new nonstop route. 

The service to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, through Allegiant Air, began Nov. 19. 

“Florida is a popular winter destination for travelers from the Midwest,” says Drew Wells, Allegiant’s senior vice president of revenue and network planning, in a statement. “We hope this new route connecting Cedar Rapids to Sarasota gives a boost to the local economy, while offering residents a new, affordable and convenient travel option.”

The new route at the airport, under the call letters SRQ, will operate twice each week. 

“We are excited to welcome new nonstop service between Eastern Iowa Airport and the Sarasota Bradenton International Airport,” says Rick Piccolo, SRQ president and CEO, in the release. “Travelers from the Cedar Rapids community and the Sarasota-Bradenton Area will appreciate Allegiant’s low fares and convenient nonstop service.”

The announcement comes as the airport has a record year with 2,494,632 passengers through the end of October. SRQ also announced the addition of its 11th service provider, Avelo Airlines, last month. 

In April, the airport expanded its checkpoint from four to five lanes with a sixth screening lane to be added before Thanksgiving. Over the next decade, the Sarasota Manatee Airport Authority intends to add more commercial, hotel and office space to the property it owns in north Sarasota, particularly on land along University Parkway.

The airport also tripled its jet fuel tank capacity with the addition of two 100,000 gallon tanks and expanded long-term parking by 140 spaces. Plans are moving ahead to pave the airport’s overflow lot and add another lot for the peak season.