Tampa International Airport

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.^[5]

Drew Field

World War II postcard from Drew Army Airfield

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 shed Wright elevators Lindbergh elevators Jannus elevators Goddard elevators Economy parking Maintenance shed 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 (10 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.^[6] 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.^[7]

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.^[8]

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

The people mover system (Airside E, right)

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.^[9] Prior to its opening on April 15, 1971, 60,000 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 airport's people mover system was the first such system in the world, with the original eight C-100 trains built by Westinghouse. 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.^[10] 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.^[11]

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 (69 m) tall 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. The interiors of both satellites were refurbished and the original Westinghouse C-100 shuttles were replaced with Bombardier Innovia APM 100 trains. 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.^[12] 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.^[13] 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.^[14] Phase II of the economy garage opened ahead of schedule in November 2005, bringing a total of 5,600 parking spaces.^[15]

On March 7, 2011, federal officials gave TPA the green light to begin charter flights to Cuba as an official entry/exit point.^[16][17]

Future

A new runway is being planned (17–35) to increase capacity in fair-weather conditions. In addition, 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 current struggle of the airline industry, including the recent merger by Delta and Northwest, has forced passenger enplanements to level off, and slowly decline at the airport. Additionally, with more possible airline mergers on the way, TPA Airport may not require drastic expansion for another five to six years. The revised start date of construction of the north terminal is now estimated at around 2015. According to the Tampa Tribune, passenger levels dropped by 14% in January 2009.^[18]

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.^[19]

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 34,000,000 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.^[20]

Groundbreaking for Phase I occurred on November 4, 2014.^[21] 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.^[22][23]

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.^[24] A permanent exhibit of Tony Jannus Award winners is also located in the airport.

Land-side Terminal

Landside Terminal – Baggage Claim (2011)

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.^[25] 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.^[26]

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.

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, and 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.^[29][30] 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.^[31]
• It was opened on March 16, 1995 and was designed by Hellmuth, Obata and Kassabaum.^[32]
• 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 Frontier and Southwest.^[31]
• 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.^[33]

Airside E

• Includes gates 62–75 (13 total).
• Serves Delta (with international arrivals to use Airside F) and all Canadian flights (Air Canada, AirTransat, Swoop, and WestJet), as well as seasonal charters by Swift Air.^[31]
• 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.^[34]

Airside F

• Includes gates 76–90 (14 total).
• International Airside; Serves American, British Airways, Cayman Airways, Copa Airlines, Edelweiss Air, Icelandair, Lufthansa, and Norwegian Air Shuttle. 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.^[35]

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 Airlines 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. ^[36]

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 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.^[37]

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,^[38] 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 (8 m) above mean sea level. It has three runways: 10/28 is 6,999 by 150 feet (2,133 x 46 m) with an asphalt/concrete surface; 19L/1R is 8,300 by 150 feet (2,530 x 46 m) with an asphalt/concrete surface; 19R/1L is 11,002 by 150 feet (3,353 x 46 m) with a concrete surface.^[1] 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.^[39]

Passenger

Domestic Destinations map

Tampa Seattle/Tacoma Charlotte Philadelphia Dulles Washington–National Chicago–O'Hare Dallas/Fort Worth Miami Phoenix–Sky Harbor Atlanta Los Angeles Boston New York Newark Raleigh/Durham Hartford Cincinnati Detroit Buffalo Cleveland Columbus Trenton Denver Salt Lake City Nashville Greensboro Greenville Las Vegas Providence Islip White Plains Austin Chicago–Midway Minneapolis/St. Paul Indianapolis St. Louis Pittsburgh Kansas City Milwaukee Fort Lauderdale Key West Jacksonville Pensacola West Palm Beach Tallahassee Albany Baltimore Birmingham Dallas–Love Houston–Intercontinental Houston–Hobby Louisville Manchester Memphis New Orleans Rochester San Antonio San Diego Madison Grand Rapids Asheville Atlantic City Akron Latrobe San Francisco Portland Syracuse Macon Norfolk Domestic destinations from TPA (excludes Puerto Rico)

Cargo

Top airlines

Airline and passenger activity (2017)^[74]

Rank	Carrier	Passengers	Change 2016/17	Market share
1	Southwest Airlines	6,886,434	4.92%	35.09%
2	Delta Air Lines	3,326,295	1.66%	16.95%
3	American Airlines	3,179,259	5.48%	16.20%
4	United Airlines	1,987,909	7.00%	10.13%
5	JetBlue	1,191,537	13.25%	6.07%
6	Spirit Airlines	1,059,199	17.60%	5.40%
7	Frontier Airlines	805,283	73.72%	4.10%
8	Air Canada	268,610	5.78%	1.37%
9	Silver Airways	220,816	10.88%	1.13%
10	British Airways	141,018	10.39%	0.72%
	Others	557,924	5.91%	2.84%
	Total	19,624,284	3.66%

Top domestic destinations

Busiest domestic routes to and from TPA (August 2017 - July 2018)^[75]

Rank	City	Passengers	Change 2017/18	Carriers
1	Atlanta, Georgia	1,026,630	4.3%	Delta, Southwest, Spirit
2	Charlotte, North Carolina	426,910	2.6%	American
3	Chicago–O'Hare, Illinois	418,860	3.4%	American, Frontier, Spirit, United
4	Newark, New Jersey	379,450	14.8%	JetBlue, United
5	Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas	364,390	18.4%	American, Spirit
6	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	353,430	5.0%	American, Frontier, Southwest
7	Baltimore, Maryland	337,530	0.2%	Southwest, Spirit
8	Detroit, Michigan	323,260	16.7%	Delta, Spirit
9	Denver, Colorado	316,310	1.0%	Frontier, Southwest, United
10	New York–JFK, New York	295,040	3.0%	Delta, JetBlue

Top international destinations

Busiest international routes from TPA (2017)^[76]

Rank	City	Passengers	Change 2015/16	Carriers
1	Toronto–Pearson, Canada	304,850	6.09%	Air Canada, WestJet
2	London–Gatwick, UK	136,142	9.10%	British Airways
3	Frankfurt, Germany	112,394	2.03%	Lufthansa
4	Havana, Cuba	107,682	66.80%	Charters, Southwest
5	Zurich, Switzerland	47,812	7.72%	Edelweiss
6	Panama City, Panama	42,568	11.22%	Copa Airlines
7	Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands	40,645	2.00%	Cayman Airways
8	Montreal–Trudeau, Canada	21,524	16.88%	Air Canada
9	Ottawa, Canada	17,830	32.58%	Air Canada, WestJet
10	Halifax, Canada	15,738	9.36%	Air Canada, WestJet

Aircraft

For the 12-month period ending May 30, 2008, the airport had 279,183 aircraft operations, an average of 764 per day: 85% scheduled commercial, 14% general aviation and <1% military. At that time there were 90 aircraft based at this airport: 66% jet, 19% single-engine, 3% multi-engine and 12% helicopter.^[1] As of September 2018, the largest passenger aircraft serving TPA on a scheduled basis is the Boeing 777.

Color-coding system

Since its opening on April 15, 1971, Tampa International Airport has used a special color-coding system throughout the terminal complex. The Baggage Claim Areas and Ticket Counters are color-coded Blue and Red. Airlines are assigned a color depending on their location within the Landside Terminal Building. The airlines found in the south side of the terminal are color-coded blue. The carriers located in the north side are color-coded red. The codes were also assigned names based on aviation and aerospace pioneers in order to assist color-blind patrons. The Blue side names are Neil Armstrong and Amelia Earhart. The Red side names are Igor Sikorsky and Chuck Yeager. Since the opening of SkyConnect, a third set of elevators have been opened on each side by the SkyConnect entrance (Blue East and Red East), but neither core is currently named. The Long Term Parking Garage also uses the special color-coding system. The four elevator cores have names and colors to make it easier for customers to remember where they've parked. Wright Brothers – Orange, Tony Jannus – Purple, Robert Goddard – Green and Charles Lindbergh – Brown. The Economy Parking Garage (EPG) elevator cores are designated as Purple, Gold, Green, and Orange, but none are currently named. It is currently unclear if there are any color designations assigned to the elevators at the Rental Car Center.

Parking facilities

Currently, over 20,000^[77] parking spaces are available at the airport. These spaces are split between the Short Term Parking Garage, the Long Term Parking Garage, and the Economy Parking Garage. As of right now, there is an ongoing expansion of the Economy Parking Garages which is in its second phase of construction. Also, the SunPass Plus program, first introduced at Orlando International Airport, is being implemented at TPA in stages. In early 2009, the Economy Parking Garages began using the program, in which customers can use their SunPass transponders to pay for parking. The program was expanded to the Short & Long-Term garages during the summer of 2009.^[78] In addition, TIA also provides self-serve lanes in which customers can pay with their credit card instead of waiting in line for the cash lanes.

Rental Car Center

On February 14, 2018, a new 2.6 million square-foot Rental Car Center with space for 5,300 vehicles, was opened to the public. The new combined service and maintenance facility is located near the southern edge of airport property and is connected to the terminal via a new monorail. Passengers on most domestic flights also have the ability to check their luggage inside the Rental Car Center. Rental car services were originally located adjacent to the Landside terminal, near the Long Term parking structure, however relocation was necessary to accommodate more cars and rental car companies as the facilities were at or near capacity.^[79]