Allegiant Airlines Has Big Plans for the Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport

Allegiant Air, the low-cost airline has big plans for the Sarasota Bradenton International Airport.  There are five new gates under construction at the airport and Allegiant has announced that it will be using all five gates!

Construction is expected to be complete by December 2024. 

The ground-level terminal will have 970 seats, including 630 equipped with charging outlets for phones and electronic devices. Additionally, to the  five gates, a four-lane security checkpoint, nursing rooms, a pet relief area, and restroom facilities are planned.

The relocation of Allegiant Airlines to the new terminal will also free up three gates in the existing terminal, paving the way for further expansion opportunities and possibly additional airlines.

With the availability of more gates, hopefully Allegiant will introduce additional destinations. Another factor contributing to Allegiant’s potential growth at SRQ is its Sunseeker Resort, currently under construction near Punta Gorda. The company plans to complete the resort and begin welcoming guests in October 2023, thereby creating an all-inclusive destination within proximity to Fort Myers and Sarasota.  They are already taking reservations.

Allegiant initiated its services at SRQ in April 2018 with three non-stop destinations and has since expanded to offer twenty-nine non-stop flights. Southwest, which started serving SRQ in February 2021, now provides flights to twenty-one destinations.

Before Allegiant’s came to Sarasota,  SRQ was served by six airlines and offered non-stop flights to only 12 destinations.  Now, the airport serves over fifty destinations with potentially more on the way.

There is a lot more going on at the airport.  The Sarasota Airport Authority has agreed to engage in contract negotiations with Prime Engineering of Atlanta for planning, engineering, and architectural design services related to air cargo expansion and the vehicle storage facility. This project is an outcome of the airport’s considerable growth in passenger traffic.

Sarasota-Bradenton airport is no longer the sleepy little airport we have come to know and love.  But expansion opens up so many more opportunities for those who want to fly out of Sarasota instead of driving all the way to Tampa!

Photo from Allegiant’s Facebook page.