Charlotte County Airport Authority adopts $96.9M budget

Charlotte County Airport Authority adopted a $96.9 million budget for the 2025-26 fiscal year, with capital improvements making up the largest share of spending.

The 145-page budget includes several major projects, authority CEO James Parish said at the Sept. 18 adoption hearing. The largest item is the installation of two T-hangar doors, followed by a two-year, $9 million taxiway project.

Other improvements include construction of a concrete wall around the Maintenance and Operations buildings, installation of a “muffin monster” grinder pump to process blue water discharge from aircraft and upgrades at the airport’s fuel farm, including new pumps. The authority also seeks to add a fourth position in the control tower if funding becomes available, Parish said.

The budget also provides a 7% increase in wages and benefits for employees. Kaley Miller, chief marketing officer at Punta Gorda Airport, said the increase was championed by Parish to help recruit and retain staff and to align with findings from a recent professional benchmarking study.

Operating revenues are projected to outpace expenses by about 12%, with a $3.3 million surplus. A late change to the budget came after the county notified the authority that employee health insurance costs would rise 3% this year, an expense the authority will absorb.

Passenger traffic at PGD continues to grow. July was the airport’s second-busiest month ever, with revenue reaching $2.08 million, about $229,000 above budgeted expectations. Historically, July has not ranked among the busiest months at PGD, with March typically leading in passenger numbers.

Chief Operating Officer Raymond Laroche reported that August set a record, with 10,000 more passengers than the same month in 2024. That marked an 8% year-over-year increase and a 20% rise in overall air traffic.

Despite the strong summer performance, Parish cautioned that growth may slow next year. Allegiant Air, the airport’s primary carrier, is retiring aircraft and awaiting delivery of new Boeing planes, which could keep passenger levels flat.

Board Chair Robert Hancik cited a marketing report showing that airlines serving PGD had a 90% load factor in July, meaning nine out of 10 seats were filled with paying passengers.