Sarasota airport set to reopen Wednesday after suffering $4 million in damage from Hurricane Milton

SARASOTA, Fla. After Hurricane Milton tore through Florida, an airport that suffered millions of dollars in damage is set to reopen this week.

The roof on Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport (SRQ) Concourse B was ripped off by wind gusts stronger than 100 mph during Milton, airport officials said. 

Concourse B houses the airport’s security checkpoint and all 13 gates, the airport said in a Facebook update. Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport CEO Rick Piccolo said the damage to the terminal is estimated at $4 million. 

After days of repairs, the airport is still on track to reopen to commercial airline service at 9 a.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 16. 

Hurricane Milton hit Florida’s western coast last Wednesday night as a Category 3 storm. 

Photos posted to the airport’s Facebook page on Sunday showed how repairs and cleanup of the terminal were coming along. “Clean-up & repairs are well underway at SRQ,” the airport said on Facebook.

On Friday, the airport posted photos of the damage suffered. In the photos, debris litters the ground outside the terminal. Inside the terminal, ceiling tiles from the damaged roof, water and other debris clutter the ground. 

More photos show the damage to the roof and to an airplane hangar at the airport. Piccolo said damage to the hangars is still being estimated, but about a dozen hangars were damaged in the storm. He said a few small, privately owned planes were also damaged. 

Piccolo said other damage around the airport included fallen trees and damaged or fallen signs.