- March 12, 2026
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Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport CEO and President Paul Hoback is fine-tuning plans for the future of SRQ — less than six months into his new job at the rapidly-growing airport.
On the horizon are a slew of capital projects, such as a potential multimodal complex with more parking; an improved baggage claim; and rental car revamp. Those big-ticket items will be addressed as part of a larger process setting up the framework for the airport's future.
“My team has been working on a strategic plan, working on a new vision, a new mission, new strategic priorities and new goals for the organization,” Hoback told the Manatee Chamber of Commerce at a March 11 luncheon. “I've been presenting those on a one-on-one basis for the [the Sarasota Manatee Airport Authority] board and getting feedback.”
For a peek into the plans for SRQ, Hoback provided what he called a “slice” of the future at the chamber event. Overall, he said, the vision is to elevate the region’s prosperity through connection and commerce.
Since starting in his new role in October, Hoback said he has encountered what some people might call challenges but what he sees as opportunities for SRQ to fulfill that vision.
“We have a facilities and infrastructure problem because we've grown so fast,” Hoback said. “We just need to catch up.”
SRQ had 4.51 million passengers travel through the airport in 2025, up from 3.85 million in 2022 and 1.37 million in 2018. That’s a nearly 230% increase in traffic over the last seven years, which Hoback said makes it the fastest-growing airport in the country.
In his previous role as executive vice president and chief development officer for the Allegheny County Airport Authority, which operates Pittsburgh International Airport, Hoback guided the Pittsburgh airport’s $1.7 billion transformation of its passenger terminal, baggage handling system and parking to serve 10 million passengers. At SRQ, he is looking to oversee some significant improvements to infrastructure to serve a growing number of travelers as well.
About 10% of the year, Hoback said, parking is a “significant problem” at SRQ.
“We're parking people all over the place,” he said, even changing fence lines into the airfield to park the 3,500 cars the airport needs to accommodate during peak travel time.
Hoback presented a slide showing a multi-modal complex that would include a four-level parking garage with 2,120 public spaces, a park-and-ride lot with 560 spaces and additional lots totaling nearly 2,000 more spots. It would allow for the future possibility of rail travel, he said, when asked by an audience member if that was a consideration.
“If rail happens throughout the state, and we're left behind, we're not doing our jobs, so we have to make sure that we're accounting for all of those different types of transportation,” Hoback said.
The baggage claim is another area where Hoback sees room for improvement, noting SRQ has three baggage claim devices that can only handle input from three airlines; 11 airlines operate out of the airport. At times, he said, people have to wait up to 45 minutes to get their luggage.
While he said he plans “immediate improvements” that will double the space available for the baggage claim, Hoback also anticipates upgrades that could take a year and a half to implement; those will require more devices and accommodate six airlines.
One other area Hoback honed in on was Terminal A, the newly built concourse that welcomed more than 1 million passengers in its first year. It increased the airport’s number of gates from 13 to 19, with all six of the new gates leased to Allegiant. When Allegiant's merger with SunCountry closes, SunCountry may move some of its flights over to Terminal A, Hoback said. And that’s not the only change that could be coming for the new concourse.
When passengers arrive at SRQ's Terminal B — which recently underwent a multimillion-dollar concessionaire-sponsored upgrade — they are greeted by an aquarium and a manatee sculpture that provide a sense of place, a feeling Hoback said he wants to create in the new terminal.
“My team is going to be focused on bringing that personality and bringing that Concourse A to life,” Hoback said. “There are endless opportunities here, whether we bring in a steel drum band or somehow just start to energize that space. I think there's so much that we can do in here to really bring that area to life and give that sense of place.”
To help get there, an industry day is planned for March 27 to match potential architects and engineers with projects SRQ seeks to have completed, according to Hoback.
“We want to make sure these facilities, this new infrastructure, is part of an airport that is built for this community, but maybe more importantly, by this community,” Hoback said. “There's so much opportunity, and I am so excited to be part of this.”
