Tampa International Airport

Tampa International Airport (IATA: TPA, ICAO: KTPA, FAA LID: TPA) is an international airport six miles (9.7 km) west of Downtown Tampa, in Hillsborough County, Florida, United States. The airport is publicly owned by Hillsborough County Aviation Authority (HCAA). It has been praised for its architecture and Landside/Airside design of a central terminal (landside) connected by people movers to four satellite air terminals and gates (airsides), a pioneering concept when designed in the late 1960s. The airport was called Drew Field Municipal Airport until 1952.

The airport is served by over twenty major air carrier airlines, four regional airlines, and three air cargo carriers. Three of the regional airlines operate under the banner of mainline air carriers, while a fourth, Silver Airways, is independent and utilizes Tampa International Airport as a hub for its operations. Southwest Airlines operates a focus city in TPA and carries the airport's largest share of passengers, operating up to 121 daily flights.

The airport presently serves 93 non-stop destinations throughout North America, Central America, the Caribbean, and Europe. Tampa International is also one of only two airports in the United States to host regular flights to four Cuban cities: Camagüey, Havana, Holguín, and Santa Clara.[] The airport handled 21,289,390 passengers in 2018, making it the 29th-busiest airport by passenger movements in North America.

History

Flying boat

Tampa Bay is the birthplace of commercial airline service, when pioneer aviator Tony Jannus flew the inaugural flight of the St. Petersburg-Tampa Airboat Line on January 1, 1914, from St. Petersburg, Florida, to Tampa using a Benoist Flying Boat—the first scheduled commercial airline flight in the world using a heavier-than-air airplane.

Drew Field

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Tampa International Airport
Airside D
(Gates D46–D61)
Airside C
(Gates C30–C45)
Tampa Airport Marriott
 Yeager elevators 
 Sikorsky elevators 
Airside E
(Gates E62–E75)
Airside B
(Gates B19–B29)
SkyConnect
 Armstrong elevators 
 Earhart elevators 
Airside F
(Gates F77–F90)
Airside A
(Gates A1–A18)
Maintenance facility
 Wright elevators 
 Lindbergh elevators 
 Jannus elevators 
 Goddard elevators 
Economy parking
Maintenance facility
Rental car center
Main terminal/
short-term parking
AGT lines
Long-term parking
Monorail line

In 1928 the city completed the 160-acre (65 ha) Drew Field six miles (9.7 km) west of Downtown Tampa. It was named for local developer John H. Drew, who formerly owned the land on which the airport stood. The more popular Peter O. Knight Airport was opened on Davis Islands near Downtown Tampa in 1935, where both Eastern and National Airlines operated until 1946.

The United States Army Air Corps began negotiating for the use Drew Field in 1939 during the buildup of military forces prior to World War II. In 1940, the City of Tampa leased Drew Field to the U.S. Government for 25 years, or until the end of the "national emergency." During the war, the United States Army Air Forces expanded and modernized the airport. The airfield was used by Third Air Force and renamed it Drew Army Airfield. Third Air Force used it as a training center by 120,000 combat air crews, primarily in bomber aircraft for the European and Pacific theaters, and also flew locally based antisubmarine patrols from the airfield until that mission was fully taken over by Naval Aviation assets of the U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard. There was one mishap in 1943 that killed five fliers. Despite this, Drew Field set a safety record for the Third Air Force in 1945 after 100,000 flying hours had been completed over a period of 10 months without a fatal incident. The aircraft operated included the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress, Douglas C-47 Skytrain, North American AT-6, North American B-25 Mitchell, and others.

After World War II, the Army Air Forces vacated the facility and Drew Field was returned to the City of Tampa. The Peter O. Knight Airport and Drew Field reversed roles as the main Tampa airport because Drew Field was greatly expanded by the United States Army Air Forces during the war years. Airlines (Eastern Air Lines and National Airlines) moved to Drew Field from Peter O. Knight Airport on Davis Island, which was too small to handle the Douglas DC-4, DC-6 and Lockheed Constellation prop-liners then coming on line in the mid-1940s. During this period, the airlines were housed in the former Drew AAF Base Operations building.

Tampa International Airport

Trans Canada Airlines international flights began in 1950 and Drew Field was renamed Tampa International Airport. The airport's second terminal opened in 1952 near the intersection of Columbus Drive and West Shore Blvd.

The April 1957 Official Airline Guide shows 30 departures a day on Eastern Air Lines: nonstops to Chicago-Midway, Detroit (Willow Run), Cleveland, New York Idlewild (now JFK), Boston, seven nonstops to Atlanta and 18 within Florida. National Airlines had 26 departures, including seven nonstops beyond Florida to Houston Hobby, Havana, Washington National, New York/Idlewild and three to New Orleans. Trans-Eastern had 12 departures and Mackey had two DC-3s, none nonstop beyond Florida. Trans-Canada had thirteen nonstops a week to Toronto or Montreal.

The 1952 terminal, built for three airlines, was swamped after the Civil Aeronautics Board granted Capital, Delta, Northeast, Northwest and Trans World Airlines authority to fly from Tampa in the late 1950s. An annex was built east of the terminal for the new carriers.

Turbine-powered flights began in 1959 on Eastern Air Lines' L-188 Electra; in 1960 National, Eastern and Delta Air Lines began jet flights with the Douglas DC-8 (Delta was first, with a Chicago nonstop in May or June). National DC-8 nonstops to Los Angeles and weekly Pan American jets to Mexico City (MIA-TPA-MID-MEX) started in 1961.

The 1952 terminal was congested as larger jets replaced piston airliners and it was again expanded.

The 1971 Terminal

During the early 1960s, the aviation authority began planning a replacement terminal in an undeveloped site at the airport. Airport leaders chose the Landside/Airside design in 1965 after a study.

Construction on the new terminal designed by Reynolds, Smith & Hills began in 1968 between the airport's parallel jet-capable runways. Prior to its opening on April 15, 1971, sixty thousand people toured the new facility during a two-day open house. National Airlines Flight 36 from Los Angeles was the first to arrive at the terminal; after touching down at 05:26 A.M., the jet taxied to Airside E.

The graphics and signage system designed by Jane Davis Doggett used red for one group of airlines and blue for another. The red/blue color scheme began on the highway outside the airport and helped guide drivers to the proper dropoff areas for each airline, then continued to guide passengers through the airport itself and ultimately to their gate. The Tampa Airport was the first airport to use this sort of color-coded wayfinding signage system which was safer for drivers and required many fewer signs than highway engineers had originally budgeted for.

The logo, used since the new airport opened in 1971, represents the blue waters of Tampa Bay with a jetliner flying into the downtown Tampa sunset. It is known as the "Spirit of Flight". The jetliner was modeled after those once used for supersonic transport—at the time the logo was created in the 1970s, it was during an era when it was thought that supersonic aircraft would replace conventional jets as a mode of air travel.

On July 15, 1972, the 227-foot-tall (69 m) Air Traffic Control Tower opened, the tallest in the United States at the time. The Host/Marriott Airport Hotel and its revolving rooftop restaurant opened in December 1973, with triple-paned windows and sound-proof guest rooms.

Northwest Airlines and National Airlines brought the jumbo jet to the airport late in 1971 with the introduction of the Boeing 747 and McDonnell Douglas DC-10. This was followed by the L-1011 Lockheed Tristar a year later by Eastern Air Lines. National Airlines began trans Atlantic DC-10 service to Amsterdam and Paris in 1977.

Expansion and later developments

During the following decades, the airport was expanded to handle more traffic and additional airlines. Airside B closed in 1991, following the demise of Eastern Airlines. In 1996, Airsides C and D were remodeled, and the interiors of both satellites were refurbished. During this time, all the airlines from both facilities were housed in Airside E. Upon completion of the renovations, the airlines returned to their original locations, and Airside E was closed for good. The Landside Terminal was also remodeled numerous times during the 1980s and 1990s.

Both Delta Air Lines and US Airways opened maintenance bases at the airport. Both bases closed during the air travel downturn following the attacks of September 11, 2001. Alabama-based Pemco World Air Services now occupies the former US Airways hangar performing MRO (maintenance, repair, overhaul) services for the Spirit Airlines and jetBlue A320 fleet. On April 1, 2010 a press release announced that a lease agreement was reached to allow Pemco to lease the second hangar formerly used by Delta Air Lines, where they perform Boeing 737 cargo conversions and modifications. Tampa Bay is currently[] one of the largest metropolitan areas in the United States that doesn't have a major airline hub.

Phase I of the economy parking garage was completed in November 2005. Phase II of the economy garage opened ahead of schedule in November 2005, bringing a total of 5,600 parking spaces.

On March 7, 2011, federal officials gave TPA the green light to begin charter flights to Cuba as an official entry/exit point.

Future

A second Landside Airside Terminal will be built to the north of the current facility, allowing the airport to serve over 50 million passengers a year by 2025. Construction of this facility was originally slated to begin in 2010, with completion set to October 2015. However, the St. Petersburg Times reported on November 7, 2008 that the airport authority is no longer pursuing the original planned dates due to the Great Recession. The early 2010's struggle of the airline industry, including the merger by Delta and Northwest, resulted in passenger enplanements to level off. According to the Tampa Tribune, passenger levels dropped by 14% in January 2009.

Plans are currently in the works for the construction of an intermodal facility located on airport premises. This would allow passengers to better connect to the number of proposed bus routes by both HART and PSTA.[] In addition, a light rail system is being planned for the Tampa area, with a link to TPA Airport from Downtown Tampa and the WestShore district.

In 2012, a master plan was released involving the airport facilities in the future. It outlined that instead of building a new terminal (north of the original), the terminal would be expanded to accommodate up to 34 million passengers per year. This included the construction of Airside D. There will also be the addition of the international arrivals curbside and a new Security Checkpoint for airside C and D.

Groundbreaking for Phase I occurred on November 4, 2014. The first phase involved the construction of new passenger facilities including a remote car rental facility and a new people mover system to connect the rental car facility and Economy Parking garage with the terminal. The Rental Car Center and SkyConnect people mover opened to the public on 14 February 2018.

In April 2017 Tampa International Airport released details of a $543 million Phase II of its expansion project which is expected to begin construction in mid-2018. The expansion includes express curbside drop-off for passengers without checked bags, widening the George Bean Parkway in and out of the airport, and development of the "Gateway" commercial development of 17 acres of airport property. Plans include a hotel, office buildings, a retail strip, and a gas station.

Facilities

Main terminal, long-term-parking garage, and airside concourses, as seen from economy parking garage

Airport amenities

Airport conveniences that are free of charge include passenger paging, wireless Internet access, cell phone waiting lot with flight information, shuttle service from the economy garage, real-time flight information and travelers aid services. Other services include eateries located before passenger checkpoints, touch screen information kiosks, information about local events and outdoor smoking areas. In June 2012, the airport debuted several distinctly-Tampa restaurants and bars in both the Landside Terminal and the airsides. Among these eateries now represented at the airport are the iconic Ybor City Columbia Restaurant, downtown's Mise en Place's First Flight wine bar, and Cigar City Brewing's brewpub, which features an on-site-produced pale ale named after Tampa aviation pioneer Tony Jannus. A permanent exhibit of Tony Jannus Award winners is also located in the airport.

Landside Terminal

The Landside Terminal was designed with convenience in mind. Express elevators and escalators keep passenger traffic moving smoothly, with few bottlenecks.

Level 1 (Baggage Claim) contains all inbound baggage facilities and baggage belts. The Blue Rental Car facility was relocated from its original Bag Claim location, to a consolidated facility beneath the long-term-parking garage in 2002. On November 15, 2006 a new Red Rental Car facility and garage opened adjacent to the Marriott. In late 2008, renovation of the Baggage Claim began. Improvements include new baggage carousels and an inbound baggage screening system. This project was completed in 2010. In 2013, plans for a consolidated car rental center were announced, to be located on the south end of the property and connected to the terminal via a people mover.

Level 2 (Ticketing) contains all ticketing/check-in functions. The level also contains a Charter desk reserved for flights that do not normally utilize TPA. The Ticketing area received a major renovation/expansion in 2002, and again in 2013.

Level 3 (Transfer Level) includes the airside shuttle stations and a shopping area known as the Airport Galleria. The airport Marriott Hotel is adjacent to the main terminal. Tampa's facilities are almost entirely housed in the public access main terminal. The facilities are mostly operated and run by airport retail companies—HMS Host, Stellar Partners, Bay Area Concessions, and OSI Restaurant Partners.

  • Level 3 has undergone numerous major renovations. The main building was renovated in 1997. Shuttle bay expansions were constructed in 1986 for Airside F, 1994 for Airside A, 2001 for Airside E, and 2004 for Airside C. Future expansion plans include a relocation of the shuttle bay for Airside E by 2012. In February 2018, SkyConnect, a tram connecting the Economy Parking Garage and a replacement Rental Car facility, opened to the public.

Service building

When the airport opened its doors in 1971, the Service Building went into operation as well. It housed the very first Communications Center, Police dispatch, employee cafeteria and maintenance locker rooms. The building is located across from the Red Baggage and Ticketing levels. It was primarily intended to house mechanical equipment such as the chiller plant and electrical transformers. Since then it has been expanded to two levels which was in the original design in 1968. Today it houses the original facilities with the addition of offices, rental car counters, badging and a receptionist desk. The Police department/Lost & Found has a lobby on level two (ticketing level) for walk-in lost & found requests.

Terminals

Today, Tampa International Airport handles 21.2 million passengers per year, and improvements currently[] in progress will increase capacity to 34 million passengers a year. The airport's car rental market is in the top five among all U.S. Airports.

Tampa International Airport's Landside/Airside terminal was the first of its type in the world. There is a central Landside Terminal where baggage and ticketing functions take place. The Landside Terminal is surrounded by four Airside satellites where airliner embarkment and disembarkment occur. Each Airside is connected to the Landside Terminal via an elevated automated people mover (APM) system which employs 16 Bombardier Innovia APM 100 Shuttle Cars. TPA was the first airport in the world to deploy a fully automated, driver-free people mover system and is host to Bombardier Transportation's longest-running APM system. The terminal was originally designed to limit the walking distance between the automobile and airliner to 700 feet (210 m); today, it has increased to about 1,000 feet (300 m), due mostly in part to the larger, more modern airside buildings which have replaced the original, smaller structures.

In contrast to a similar landside/airside terminal design used at Orlando International Airport, passengers must first access the APM system before going through the security checkpoints, as the security checkpoints are located in the airsides (though boarding passes are inspected before boarding the people movers so only ticketed passengers or those with the TPA All Access airside access program have access to them).

Airsides

Airside A (top), Airside C (top-centre), Airside E (bottom-centre), Airside F (bottom)

Today, there are four active airsides (A, C, E, and F) with 59 gates. All were constructed after 1985 and all airsides include a food court and gift shop, as well as outdoor smoking patios. Airsides E and F contain duty-free shops in addition to the regular gift shops to serve passengers arriving or departing on international flights. As of 2011, the security screening area in each airside is equipped with Advanced Imaging Technology (AIT) walk-thru detection machines, made by L3 Communications, whose devices use millimeter wave technology and not backscatter X-ray.

Airside A
  • Includes gates 1–12 and 14–18 (16 total).
  • Serves Alaska Airlines, JetBlue, Silver Airways, Spirit, Sun Country, and United.
  • It was opened on March 16, 1995 and was designed by Hellmuth, Obata and Kassabaum.
  • It features a space designated for use by an airline lounge (intended to be a Continental Airlines presidents Club); however, it is unused.
Airside C
  • Largest airside by area.
  • Includes gates 30–45 (16 total).
  • Serves Southwest.
  • It was the last airside to be demolished and rebuilt from the ground up; it was designed by architect Alberto Alfonso and reopened to passengers on April 19, 2005.
  • Designed by HNTB and Alfonso Architects.
Airside E
  • Includes gates 62–75 (13 total).
  • Serves Air Canada, Delta (with international arrivals to use Airside F), Frontier and WestJet. It also uses Icelandair for departures, as well as seasonal charters by Swift Air.
  • It was the first airside to be demolished and rebuilt.
  • The current fourteen-gate facility was designed for Delta and was dedicated and opened to passengers on October 15, 2002.
  • The facility includes one airline lounge: the Delta Air Lines Sky Club.
  • Designed by Hellmuth, Obata and Kassabaum.
Airside F
  • Includes gates 76–90 (14 total).
  • International Airside; Serves Air Transat, American, British Airways, Cayman Airways, Copa Airlines, Edelweiss Air, Lufthansa, Norwegian Air Shuttle, and Swoop. Icelandair also uses it for arrivals. Charters to Cuba depart from airside F.
  • It was opened on November 4, 1987 and was designed for international flights.
  • The facility includes two airline lounges: the American Airlines Admirals Club and the International Club which is used by British Airways passengers.
  • The customs/immigration center is located on level 1.
  • Designed by Design Arts Group, Inc. and Rowe Holmes Hammer Russell Architects Inc.

Original airsides

The original TPA airsides were designed in the mid-1960s as four identical facilities. The concept was later scrapped for unknown reasons and the facilities were eventually built around the requirements of their then primary tenant airlines. Thus creating the four dissimilar facilities that stood from their opening in 1971 to 2000. Each airside building was three stories tall and included a minimum of ten gates, a cocktail lounge, snack bar, and gift shop. Each airside was maintained by the airline for which it was built until 1999. All of the facilities (except Airside B) were renovated in the early/mid-1990s but received no further modifications during their life span. All 4 of the original airside buildings have been demolished and either re-built or the space re-used as noted below.

Below is a brief description of the four original airsides and the airlines that occupied them throughout the years. The bolded airlines indicate the primary (anchor) tenants for each facility.

Airside B – former Gates 19–30 (1971–1991)
  • Airside B was a twelve-gate facility that was designed by Eastern Air Lines and was the first original airside to shut down. The closure was the direct result of Eastern's cessation of operations in 1991. There were preliminary plans to renovate and revive the airside during the early 1990s, but efforts failed and planning for Airside A commenced immediately in 1992. The airside was not rebuilt due to a lack of overnight parking for aircraft, the facility's close proximity to one of TPA's runways, and the need for a separate automated baggage sorting facility for Airside A (since Airside A could not accommodate a built-in facility due to its pre-2001 construction), and was eventually demolished in 2003.

Today an overnight aircraft hardstand and an automated baggage sorting facility for Airside A sit on the former site. The site could also one day house an intermodal center that would allow passengers to connect to various mass transit options, including Tampa's proposed light rail system.

Airside C – Gates 31–41
  • Airside C was an eleven-gate facility designed by Delta. The facility originally housed a customs/immigration center for arriving Air Canada and Pan Am international flights. The center was closed in 1987 and a Delta Crown Room (now known as a Delta Sky Club) was added. The airside was renovated (and its shuttles replaced) in 1996 but never received any further modification. By the late 1990s, Delta's presence in Airside C was dramatically increasing, and so was the congestion and lack of gate space. The airline soon requested HCAA to build a new facility for them. Airside E was deemed inactive by 1997 and its future quickly went up in the air. In 1998, it was decided that Airside E be demolished and rebuilt for Delta. After a brief halt in construction due to the 9/11 attacks, the new Airside E opened in 2002 and Delta immediately moved in. After much debate by the HCAA about whether to demolish or renovate the aging facility, Airside C was then slated for demolition and replacement in 2003.
Airside D – former Gates 46–55 (1971–2005)
  • Airside D was the last of the original airsides to close. The facility was designed by Northwest and was originally without some jet-ways until government airline regulation ended in 1978. The airside was renovated in 1996 (and its original shuttles were replaced). Northwest moved to Airside A in 1999 and United moved to the rebuilt Airside E in 2002. Airside D ceased operations in May 2005 after AirTran and JetBlue relocated to Southwest's former gates at Airside A. Demolition began in January 2007, and was completed in May 2007. The site of the demolished airside is currently used as a hard-stand for aircraft parking, but will eventually be used for a replacement airside, with construction beginning sometime in 2020.
Airside E – Gates 61–70
  • The original Airside E was designed by National Airlines and boasted a slightly different layout from the other airsides. Its boarding gates were on the third level (as opposed to the second level in the other airsides). This was due to the fact that the facility was designed specifically for the DC-10. The first level was open to allow tugs to drive right through. This was due to the airsides close proximity to the taxiway. Airside E housed National until its demise and takeover by Pan Am. Pan Am, in turn, occupied the facility until its own demise. Thereafter, the facility was renovated (in 1991) and Continental became its final major tenant. The facility was closed in 1995 after Continental's new terminal (Airside A) opened. The airside was demolished in 2000 and replaced by its current facility.

People movers

The airport's airside automated people mover systems opened in 1971 along with the current terminal, and are the first such systems in the world to run within an airport. The original eight C-100 trains were built by Westinghouse. They were replaced in 1993 with Bombardier Innovia APM 100 trains.

The Universal Mobility Incorporated UM III people mover was installed in 1991 when the new long-term-parking garage was built and opened on December 16. It was the first of its kind in the world to include six driverless, electrically propelled cars that are completely computer controlled. The system was also the first to have active switches and it is monitored from the airport's communications center. There are four long-term stations. The Monorail circles the long-term-parking garage and connects to the short term garage via an elevated bridge to stop at four additional stations. The Monorail is free to use and runs twenty-four hours a day except for a once-a-week maintenance shut-down in the overnight hours. Bombardier Transportation maintains the system by contract and the Aviation Authority owns it. Thales Rail Signalling Solutions won a contract in 2008 to completely upgrade the computer control system. The upgrade was implemented and tested for an entire year. The only visible change to passengers is the station graphics which show the position of each monorail car and display system status information.

On February 14, 2018, SkyConnect, a new 1.5-mile people mover link was opened which connects the main terminal to the new Rental Car Center. Along the route, the SkyConnect also serves the Remote Economy Parking structure, located between the terminal, and the Rental Car Center. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries America, together with Sumitomo Corporation, constructed and supplied the technology for the new line, including 12 Crystal Mover trains and five years of system operations and maintenance.[]

Runways

Tampa International Airport covers an area of 3,300 acres (1,300 ha) at an elevation of 26 feet (7.9 m) above mean sea level. It has three runways: 10/28 is 6,999 by 150 feet (2,133 × 46 m) with an asphalt/concrete surface; 19L/1R is 8,300 by 150 feet (2,530 × 46 m) with an asphalt/concrete surface; 19R/1L is 11,002 by 150 feet (3,353 × 46 m) with a concrete surface. On January 13, 2011 the runway designations changed due to a shift in the magnetic headings. 9/27 became 10/28, 18R/36L became 1L/19R, 18L/36R became 1R/19L.

Airlines and destinations

Passenger

Airlines Destinations Refs
Air Canada Rouge Toronto–Pearson
Seasonal: Halifax (begins February 8, 2020), Montréal–Trudeau, Ottawa (begins December 19, 2019)
Alaska Airlines Seattle/Tacoma
American Airlines Charlotte, Chicago–O'Hare, Dallas/Fort Worth, Miami, Philadelphia, Phoenix–Sky Harbor, Washington–National
British Airways London–Gatwick
Cayman Airways Grand Cayman
Contour Airlines Seasonal: Charlotte
Copa Airlines Panama City
Delta Air Lines Atlanta, Boston, Cincinnati, Detroit, Los Angeles, Minneapolis/St. Paul, New York–JFK, New York–LaGuardia, Salt Lake City
Seasonal: Amsterdam, Cancún
Delta Connection Raleigh/Durham
Seasonal: Cincinnati
Edelweiss Air Zurich
Frontier Airlines Buffalo, Chicago–O'Hare, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Denver, Las Vegas, Long Island/Islip, Milwaukee, Philadelphia, Raleigh/Durham, Trenton
Seasonal: Austin, Grand Rapids, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Portland (ME), Providence, Syracuse
JetBlue Boston, Hartford, New York–JFK, Newark, San Juan, White Plains
Lufthansa Frankfurt
Norwegian Air Shuttle London–Gatwick
Silver Airways Fort Lauderdale, Key West, Nassau, Pensacola, Tallahassee
Seasonal: Marsh Harbour (BA), North Eleuthera
Southern Airways Express Destin–Executive, West Palm Beach
Southwest Airlines Albany, Atlanta, Austin, Baltimore, Birmingham (AL), Buffalo, Chicago–Midway, Cleveland, Columbus–Glenn, Dallas–Love, Denver, Fort Lauderdale, Hartford, Havana, Houston–Hobby, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Las Vegas, Long Island/Islip, Los Angeles, Louisville, Manchester (NH), Memphis, Milwaukee, Nashville, New Orleans, New York–LaGuardia, Philadelphia, Phoenix–Sky Harbor, Pittsburgh, Providence, Raleigh/Durham, St. Louis, San Antonio, San Diego, San Juan, Washington–National
Seasonal: Detroit, Grand Rapids, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Richmond (begins August 10, 2019), Rochester (NY)
Spirit Airlines Asheville, Atlanta, Atlantic City, Baltimore, Chicago–O'Hare, Dallas/Fort Worth, Detroit, Fort Lauderdale, Greensboro, Houston–Intercontinental, Indianapolis (begins November 14, 2019), Las Vegas, Nashville (begins November 6, 2019), New Orleans, New York–LaGuardia (begins November 14, 2019), San Juan
Seasonal: Akron/Canton, Boston, Cleveland, Columbus–Glenn, Hartford, Latrobe/Pittsburgh, Newark, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh
Sun Country Airlines Seasonal: Madison, Minneapolis/St. Paul, St. Louis (resumes December 20, 2019)
Swoop Seasonal: Hamilton (ON), Winnipeg (begins November 17, 2019)
United Airlines Chicago–O'Hare, Denver, Houston–Intercontinental, Newark, San Francisco, Washington–Dulles
United Express Seasonal: Cleveland (resumes December 7, 2019), Houston
WestJet Toronto–Pearson
Seasonal: St. John's

Cargo

Airlines Destinations
Amazon Air Baltimore, Chicago/Rockford, Cincinnati, Dallas/Fort Worth, Miami, Phoenix–Sky Harbor, Sacramento, Stockton, Wilmington, OH
FedEx Express Fort Lauderdale, Fort Worth/Alliance, Greensboro, Indianapolis, Jacksonville, Memphis
Seasonal: Atlanta, Los Angeles, Newark, New Orleans, Raleigh/Durham, Tallahassee
UPS Airlines Dallas/Fort Worth, Fort Myers, Jacksonville (FL), Louisville, Orlando, Philadelphia
Seasonal: Columbia (SC), Jackson (MS), Miami, San Juan

Statistics

Top airlines

Largest Airlines at TPA (April 2018 - March 2019)
Rank Carrier Passengers Share
1 Southwest Airlines 6,854,000 34.31%
2 Delta Air Lines 3,380,000 16.92%
3 American Airlines 3,220,000 16.12%
4 United Airlines 2,097,000 10.50%
5 Spirit Airlines 1,663,000 8.32%

Top domestic destinations

Busiest domestic routes from TPA (April 2018 - March 2019)
Rank City Passengers Carriers
1 Atlanta, Georgia 1,037,360 Delta, Southwest, Spirit
2 Charlotte, North Carolina 454,600 American, Frontier
3 Chicago–O'Hare, Illinois 426,110 American, Frontier, Spirit, United
4 Newark, New Jersey 396,600 JetBlue, United
5 Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas 385,880 American, Spirit
6 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 360,280 American, Frontier, Southwest, Spirit
7 Detroit, Michigan 333,580 Delta, Spirit
8 Baltimore, Maryland 332,720 Southwest, Spirit
9 Denver, Colorado 326,580 Frontier, Southwest, United
10 Boston, Massachusetts 318,900 Delta, JetBlue, Spirit

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Tips & Hints
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Samra Bufkins, MJ, APR
16 June 2016
I've been to 23 countries and all over the US and Tampa Int'l has consistently been the best airport I've ever encountered. It is always a step ahead of the others in technology and customer service.
Janneke Boekhorst
6 June 2016
Very relaxed airport. Enough space to sit in comfortable chair if you have to wait for your flight. Also free wifi and lot's of restaurants and shops.
Amaury J
29 November 2017
Amazing. My favorite airport in Florida. Great staff all throughout the airport, fast TSA lines, and just what an airport should be like.
James Zambon
27 July 2018
Possibly one of the best airports in the country. Just know that the air sides are not connected
Alex Maskovyak
10 February 2013
TPA is very tech-friendly. Workstations for charging & laptop use are plentiful. They offer free wireless access for all customers. Their wireless portal is mobile-ready & has helpful flight info.
Tim Morrow
6 July 2015
Try the planes! I get one every time....they are pretty much a must have here!
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Incheon International Airport

Incheon International Airport (IIA) Шаблон:Airport codes (한국어.

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New Chitose Airport

New Chitose Airport (新千歳空港, Shin-Chitose Kūkō) (IATA: CTS, ICAO: RJCC)

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Antalya Airport

Antalya Airport Шаблон:Airport codes is Шаблон:Convert northeast o

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