Uber / Lyft · Wikipedia reprint: about 7 miles to Clearwater, 9 to downtown St. Petersburg, 17 to Tampa — official pages do not print a drive-time tile
Uber / Lyft · About 15 minutes to downtown Sarasota; about 20 minutes to Bradenton
Where they are
One map, pinned from each airport’s published coordinates.
Category scores
Overall is the published weighted sum. A highlighted score is ahead; a tie stays plain.
Ease of use
25% · Wayfinding, security wait, and layout.
PIE8.3
SRQ8.4+0.1
Comfort & amenities
20% · Seating, Wi-Fi, cleanliness, and quiet.
PIE7.4
SRQ7.5+0.1
Food & retail
15% · Food and retail quality and variety.
PIE7.5
SRQ7.8+0.3
Ground access
15% · Transit, taxi, and parking to the city.
PIE7.5+0.2
SRQ7.3
Reliability
15% · Delays, cancellations, and weather resilience.
PIE7.2
SRQ7.2
Lounges
10% · Worth-it density and access quality.
PIE2.0
SRQ2.0
Best for
PIE
Allegiant leisure trips that actually land at PIE, not TPABeach trips that can book Grouper to Clearwater BeachDomestic departures that can follow the official 2-hour clock
SRQ
Gulf-coast leisure trips that already know Allegiant uses Concourse ADrivers who will use Shade Lot $16 or Overflow $14Travelers who want local food (Wahlburgers, Mattison’s, Anna Maria) after TSA
Watch out for
PIE
No passenger lounge and no CLEAR — do not buy a third-party Club PIE passGates 2–6 and 7–11 are separate holdrooms; official pages do not describe a sterile connectorLong-term parking fills; budget Key Lime / Strawberry and the ~20-minute shuttleBermudAir Caribbean stamps start 20–24 December 2026 — not today’s board
SRQ
Two TSA checkpoints that do not connect airside — wrong line is a reclearNo passenger lounge and no Priority PassThursday and Friday mornings: parking fills and the long-term shuttle adds timeLive flysrq.com/dining is leftover — Wahlburgers opened 28 Feb 2026
Amenities and tips
PIE
Two holdrooms, short walks, unpublished TSA hoursNo passenger loungeMazzaro and Liquid Provisions on 7–11; 3 Daughters on 2–6Airport_Guest Wi-Fi and mapped hold-room fillersKids play, Mamava, and Bark Parks on both sidesGrouper to the beach; first-come parking
Arrive 2–3 hours early — TSA hours are unpublished
Official FAQ asks for two hours on US flights and three hours when you leave the country, plus extra for parking construction. Official pages do not print checkpoint clock hours or a wait tile.
Pick A or B first — 2–6 and 7–11 are not one walk
Allegiant checks in at Ticketing A. Sun Country is at Ticketing B. Gates 2–6 sit between the two halls; Gates 7–11 exit into baggage claim.
Mazzaro and Liquid Provisions are 7–11; 3 Daughters is 2–6
After TSA, eat on the holdroom your gate actually uses. Landside District Pub is upstairs most days 8 a.m.–4 p.m.; Hudson Dunkin’ sits between Ticketing A and B.
SRQ
Two unconnected TSA linesNo passenger loungeWahlburgers and B-side refreshSRQWIFIBreeze Transit + $16 shade parking
Two checkpoints — pick the right one
Allegiant uses Concourse A’s own TSA. Every other airline uses the main / Concourse B checkpoint. Official arrive-early page wants at least two hours; Thursday and Friday mornings are the named crush.
A and B are not one sterile walk
After you clear the wrong checkpoint you cannot walk airside to the other concourse. A4–A8 are ground-level Allegiant gates; B is upstairs jet bridges.
Trust March 2026 openings, not the dining card
The live flysrq.com/dining card is leftover. Concourse B now has Wahlburgers (opened 28 Feb 2026, B6–B8 next to Starbucks), Mattison’s, Motorworks, Huey Magoo’s, The Salty Key, Jimmy John’s, and a remodeled Starbucks.
PIE · Clearwater put 2,794,067 people through two small holdrooms in 2025: easy when you pick the right TSA, eat on that side, take Grouper to the beach, and accept there is still no lounge.
SRQ · A compact Gulf-coast field that ran 4.51 million passengers through one terminal with two TSA lines that do not connect: easy once you pick Allegiant-A or everyone-else-B, no lounge, and a dining card that still has not caught up with Wahlburgers.
