- December 17, 2025
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New leadership, a new concourse, 17 new concessions and a new outbound baggage handling system — all punctuated by an anticipated record-breaking 4.5 million passengers — highlighted a year filled with accomplishments at Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport.
And it all sets the stage for an equally busy 2026.
By the time retired President and CEO Rick Piccolo handed the keys to his office to his successor, Paul Hoback, in October, SRQ:
Those four projects alone represent some $200 million in investment in the airport as its passenger count has more than doubled and continues to grow from the 1.9 million in the last pre-pandemic year of 2019.
“We will end the year with 11 airlines and 69 non-stop destinations,” said SRQ Executive Vice President and Chief of Staff Mark Stuckey. “We’ve added 12 new non-stop destinations for 2025, the latest two are Toledo and Miami with Miami being a hub for American Airlines. That is a great service when you can connect people beyond the city that somebody may be flying to as a destination.”
American also offers service to the hubs in Dallas and Charlotte. Allegiant, which leases the five ground boarding gates in Concourse A, added seven new routes in February plus the Toledo route later in the year.
More flights mean more passengers seeking better service in the terminal area and higher-end amenities in the concourses as SRQ competes with Tampa International Airport and Southwest Florida International Airport in Fort Myers. To shorten lines and control costs, SRQ added a 10th rental car vendor, SixT, this year. New dining options in Concourse B include Mattison’s, Huey Magoo’s Chicken, and the nearly completed Wahlburgers. Also soon to open is Motorworks Brewing, which will replace a temporary bar. At the far end of the concourse is The Salty Key bar and remaining in place is sandwich shop Jimmy John's.
Concourse A dining options include Patrick’s 1481 and Anna Maria Oyster Bar.
“We have great concessions that are open now, and that was one of the really big customer service conveniences that we've added in 2025 that has really changed the look and feel of our airport,” Stuckey said. “Passengers have come to expect a certain level of amenities at an airport, and we wanted to make sure we provided that.”
As SRQ leadership puts a wrap on 2025, it looks toward 2026. One reason Hoback was recruited from Pittsburgh International Airport is his experience in overseeing infrastructure expansion. Adding to his expertise is new Senior Vice President of Engineering, Planning and Facilities Robert Furr. He comes from Orlando International Airport, where he was vice president of engineering, and previously Tampa International Airport, where he served as senior manager of planning and design.
“Our new CEO brings a lot of experience with construction, and we've got (Furr) who just came on board, and he is really good, really sharp,” Stuckey said.
Together, they will lead the 2026 prime directives of planning for a new parking structure on the current short-term and rental car parking area and upgrading the baggage claim to add more capacity.
Current planning for the parking structure will serve the triple purposes of adding enough parking capacity for the foreseeable future on levels three through five, staging rental car operations on the ground level and moving baggage claim functions to the second level.
According to Stuckey, that planning will begin in early 2026 and take approximately a year, followed by several months to bid the project and upwards of 18 months to build at a cost of upwards of $250 million.
In the interim, baggage claim will require expansion, which may mean extending the terminal building or converting the current conveyor system to a more efficient model. Although the entire system may eventually be relocated to the parking garage, investing in the present remains necessary.
“We're four to five years out before we have our parking garage complete, but we have to fix the baggage claim issue in the meantime,” Stuckey said.
Since the start of the pandemic-induced rapid growth SRQ experienced over the past five years, the airport has scrambled to keep pace. Now with all the gate capacity needed for the next decade or more and upgraded concessions in place, the future turns toward enhancing the passenger experience to remain competitive.
“Right now, the customer experience at our airport is really good,” Stuckey said. “We have plenty of room in the ticket wing, quick processing and few lines. We have multiple escalators. We have plenty of checkpoint equipment machines and personnel to keep the flow going through quickly, and then once they're beyond the checkpoint it opens up into beautiful gate areas with plenty of concessions.”
