Tampa International Airport (TPA) has a special place in my heart. I grew up in Tampa, so it used to by home airport back when I’d do mileage runs. My parents still live in Tampa, so it’s an airport I return to all the time. On top of that, it’s just generally an awesome mid-size airport — it’s so easy to use thanks to the central concourse, with several smaller terminals.
Tampa Airport recently previewed its first new terminal in 20 years, and I’m really excited about it! I first wrote about this several weeks ago, but wanted to provide an update, as some renderings of the new terminal have just been released for the first time.
In this post:
The basics of the new Tampa Airport Airside D
Tampa Airport’s new Airside D is expected to open to the public in 2028, so the bad news is that we’ll have to wait several more years before this becomes a reality. Groundbreaking and early stages of construction will start in late 2024, as an updated design has been approved.
Airside D is intended to help the airport grow from 25 million to 35 million passengers per year by 2037, so it’s a vital part of the airport’s overall vision for expansion.
The new Tampa Airport Airside D is expected to cost around $1.5 billion to build, and will feature:
- A total of 16 gates, including an international passenger arrival processing area, meaning this will be the new terminal for international flights
- An orthogonal shape with 600,000 square feet, for greater space and operational efficiency; it’ll be connected from the main terminal by a shuttle system, as is the case with the current setup
- A mezzanine level for two airline lounges with views of the airfield and the bay
- Shopping and dining locations at the center of the airside, offering 360-degree views of the gates
- A large open space featuring intuitive wayfinding and natural light
The airport has just released its first full-color artist renderings of the design concept for Airside D, so I wanted to share those. The renderings show soaring ceilings, bright interiors, and an international arrivals corridor that wraps around the building, and more. The one thing to note is that the design process is currently at 15%, so these images are subject to change as the design evolves.
Tampa Airport is getting two new lounges!
I’m excited to see that Tampa Airport is getting two additional lounges, since that has been a serious challenge with the airport. Currently Tampa has only three lounges — an American Admirals Club in Airside F, a Delta Sky Club in Airside E, and the International Club Lounge in Airside F (used by Virgin Atlantic). Those are the only options, and there are no other lounges.
While I love Tampa Airport’s small concourses for the purposes of easily getting from the curb to the gate, the various concourses aren’t connected airside, so this isn’t ideal in terms of lounge access.
For example, airlines like Discover and Edelweiss depart from Airside F, but can’t offer their premium passengers any lounge access.
So honestly, I can’t even begin to speculate as to what lounges there will be in the new Airside D. We know that a variety of international airlines will relocate to the terminal, though we don’t know what other airlines will:
- It’s possible that American or Delta move to Airside D, in which case they could open an Admirals Club or Sky Club there, vacating their lounge space in other terminals
- I have to imagine that at least one of the lounges will be a non-airport contract lounge that’s accessible with Priority Pass, since that’s good for passengers in general, and it’s also valuable in terms of all international airlines having somewhere to send premium passengers
- While I’d love to see it, I suspect that Tampa Airport won’t be getting a credit card lounge, like an Amex Centurion Lounge, Capital One Lounge, or Chase Sapphire Lounge; however, you never know…
No matter what lounges end up coming to the airport, the good news is that Tampa Airport’s number of lounges is increasing, from three to five.
Bottom line
In 2028, Tampa Airport will be getting its first new concourse in 20 years, with the opening of Airside D. This will be the airport’s new international terminal, and it’ll be over 600,000 square feet, will feature 16 gates, and will have two lounges.
I’m excited to see Tampa Airport continue to grow, and in particular, am looking forward to seeing what two new lounges the airport gets.
What do you make of the plans for Tampa Airport Airside D?
A airline agnostic lounge like Centurion or PP in the central hub area would be so busy.
Did you mean to say "orthogonal" shape? Or did you mean "octagonal"? Though, it looks more like a heptagon to me, but perhaps I've missed a side due to the angles of the renderings.
"Orthogonal" means "at right angles", i.e. perpendicular. (Or, more broadly, mathematically independent dimensions or independent concerns/variables.) There do appear to be a couple of right angles on the building, but the others aren't.
"Octagonal," of course, means "shaped as an octagon,"...
Did you mean to say "orthogonal" shape? Or did you mean "octagonal"? Though, it looks more like a heptagon to me, but perhaps I've missed a side due to the angles of the renderings.
"Orthogonal" means "at right angles", i.e. perpendicular. (Or, more broadly, mathematically independent dimensions or independent concerns/variables.) There do appear to be a couple of right angles on the building, but the others aren't.
"Octagonal," of course, means "shaped as an octagon," i.e. having 8 sides.
I can absolutely see Tampa becoming a United hub especially with their recently built maintenance facility and lack of Southeast hub exposure.
It's an airport for folks with a car or using hotel shuttle buses. Very poor public transportation connections to downtown or to other forms of public transportation (train, bus).
Ahhh, the old Northwest terminal location
Would love to see an new AA AC. The TPA location is always packed, way to small.
Have always found TPA's design to be very strange.
It's gotta be the busiest stateside airport that has such limited airside-connectivity between gates, no?
Last time I transferred at MCO I believe the trams on the way back to the main terminal building drop you off outside of the security zone and MCO is definitely bigger
At MCO passengers can airside connect between gates 1-59 OR 70-129, but not between them.
So while busier than TPA, and also with that convoluted layout, MCO does have two sets of 59 gates each that facilitate connections between all...
At MCO passengers can airside connect between gates 1-59 OR 70-129, but not between them.
So while busier than TPA, and also with that convoluted layout, MCO does have two sets of 59 gates each that facilitate connections between all of them, despite originating in different terminals.
As well as all gates in Terminal C.
You can transfer between the two concourses on the A and B side, but not always. When an international flight arrives at one of those concourses, they have all of the passengers taking the train back to the central terminal exit security. Therefore, you have to clear security again, even if you are going back to the other concourse in the same terminal, or even the same concourse.
This has happened to me multiple...
You can transfer between the two concourses on the A and B side, but not always. When an international flight arrives at one of those concourses, they have all of the passengers taking the train back to the central terminal exit security. Therefore, you have to clear security again, even if you are going back to the other concourse in the same terminal, or even the same concourse.
This has happened to me multiple times. I would often go to The Club at MCO prior to my flight, and my flight would often depart from a different concourse (I would fly AA, and the PP lounge is in the LLC concourse). I theoretically wouldn't have to clear security again (just ride the train twice). But it happened quite often (I traveled in the evening most of the time on the same day of the week) where I would take the train back to the central terminal, and TSA would force everyone to exit the secure zone and reclear security, which made it a PITA to go to the lounge when flying AA.
TPA is my second home airport. You are correct, no way to get from one airside to another after clearing security but Tampa doesn’t really have connecting flights, more of an origin and destination airport so I see much added benefit of being able to go between the airsides unless you wanted a specific food option that is only available in one of them. I personally love the way security is set up. I never...
TPA is my second home airport. You are correct, no way to get from one airside to another after clearing security but Tampa doesn’t really have connecting flights, more of an origin and destination airport so I see much added benefit of being able to go between the airsides unless you wanted a specific food option that is only available in one of them. I personally love the way security is set up. I never have to leave more than an hour before my boarding time bc I am only 25-30 min away and I can clear security with TSA precheck in less than 3-5 minutes. The design wouldn’t work at every airport but I think it’s great for a city like Tampa and I hope the airport doesn’t change too much as they try to grow. So far the only negative change has been the move of the rental cars. Luckily I don’t have to rent and the long term structure over in that newly developed area is dirt cheap ($10 per 24 hours) compared to my other home airport DTW ($30 per 24 hours).
Lots of wasted space with that high ceiling -lots of space to heat and cool. Could be potential lounge space if another floor above - airports don't build enough lounge space, like LAS. Take Dubai - their terminals are multiple levels and an entire floor is Business lounge and another is for First Class.
What makes you think that TPA is an unlikely candidate for a credit card lounge
Virtually no connecting traffic.
Virtually no connecting traffic.
It's based on the history of existing credit card lounges. They're all placed in major airports in big cities. I think the smallest population airport where there is a Centurion Lounge is LAS, which is at 656,000. Tampa, by contrast, is only 400,000. I suppose you could subscribe to the "there's a first time for everything" mantra, but based on the current landscape, it's not likely.