Sarasota Bradenton International Airport (SRQ) traces its origins to 1939, when leaders from both Sarasota and Manatee counties agreed to build a shared airfield on a 620-acre site straddling the county line. Aviation facilities were completed in 1942 at a cost of approximately $1 million, though the airport was almost immediately leased to the Army Air Corps as a fighter pilot training base during World War II. The federal government put several million additional dollars into improvements during those years, expanding the field and laying the physical foundation for what would become a commercial hub.

After the war, National Airlines, which had first served the Sarasota area in the late 1930s, reestablished service and became the airport's anchor carrier through the postwar era. A modern terminal designed by architect Paul Rudolph opened on June 1, 1959, replacing a rustic wood structure that had served passengers since the 1940s. The jet age arrived on February 15, 1965, when National Airlines Flight 61, a Boeing 727 inbound from New York via Orlando, became the first commercial jet to land at the airport. Eastern Air Lines had begun service in January 1961, and the two carriers defined SRQ's commercial identity through the 1970s. The current terminal opened on October 29, 1989. The primary commercial runway, 14/32, was extended to its current length of 9,500 feet in 2001.

Today, SRQ sits approximately 4 miles north of downtown Sarasota and about 30 miles south of Tampa International Airport, serving as a practical alternative to the larger regional hubs. Allegiant Air has maintained an operating base at the airport since 2018 and anchors a new 5-gate Concourse A that opened in January 2025, the airport's first significant expansion since 1989. Airlines including Delta, American, United, Southwest, JetBlue, and Breeze Airways collectively connect SRQ to more than 65 nonstop destinations, reflecting a period of rapid growth driven by the broader population surge across the Sarasota-Manatee region.