Updated 04-May-2020.
Mondo shtuff from around the internet, all about TAMPA INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT!
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My botty best at summarizing from Wikipedia: Tampa International Airport is an international airport six miles (9.7 km) west of Downtown Tampa . the airport is publicly owned by Hillsborough County Aviation Authority (HCAA) it has been praised for its architecture and Landside/Airside the airport handled 22,497,953 passengers in 2019, making it the 28th-busiest airport by passenger movements in North America . it was named for local developer John H. Drew, who formerly owned the land on which the city of Tampa leased Drew Field to the U.S. Government for 25 years . During the war, the airport was used by the third air force . there was one mishap in 1943 that killed five flier Drew Field set a safety record for the Third Air Force in 1945 . 100,000 flying hours completed over a period of 10 months without a fatal incident . Drew Field was greatly expanded by the United States Army Air Forces during the 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-Mid the 1952 terminal, built for three airlines, was swamped after the late 1950s . capital, delta, northeast, northwest and trans world airlines were granted authority to fly from Tampa . an annex was built east of the construction on the new terminal began in 1968 between the airport’s parallel jet-capable runways . prior to its opening on April 15, 1971, 60,000 people toured the new facility during a two-day open house . the Tampa airport was the first airport to use color-coded wayfinding signage system . the logo represents the blue waters of Tampa bay with a jetliner flying into downtown Tampa sunset . at the time the logo was created 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 . National Airlines began transatlantic DC-10 service to Amsterdam and Paris in 1977 . 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 pemco performs Boeing 737 cargo conversions and modifications . Tampa Bay is one of the largest metropolitan areas in the united states . federal officials gave TPA the green light to begin charter flights to Cuba . airport authority is no longer pursuing original planned dates due to the Great Recession . passenger levels dropped by 14% in January 2009 due to airline industry struggles . Tampa International Airport is expanding its terminal to accommodate 34 million passengers per year . the expansion project is expected to begin construction in mid-2018 . expansion includes express curbside drop-off for passengers without checked bags . expansion includes widening the George Bean Parkway in and out of the airport . plans include a hotel, office buildings, a retail strip, and a permanent exhibit of Tony Jannus Award winners is also located in the airport . Express elevators and escalators keep passenger traffic moving smoothly, with few bottlenecks . Level 1 (Baggage Claim 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 . 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 . level 3 has undergone numerous major renovations. the main building was renovated in 1997. future expansion plans include a relocation of the shuttle bay for Airside E by 2012. SkyConnect, a tram connecting the Economy Parking Garage and a replacement Rental Car facility, opened to the public in February 2018 . it housed the very first Communications Center, Police dispatch, employee cafeteria and maintenance locker rooms the police department/Lost & Found has a lobby on level two (ticketing level) for walk-in lost & found requests . the airport’s car rental market is in the top five among all U.S the Landside Terminal is surrounded by four Airside satellites where airliner embarkment and disembarkment occur . TPA was the first airport in the world to deploy a fully automated, driver-free people move security checkpoints are located in the airsides at Orlando international airport . all were constructed after 1985 and include a food court and gift shop . security screening area in each airside is equipped with advanced imaging technology (AIT serves Contour, JetBlue, Silver Airways, Spirit, and United . it features a space designated for use by an airline lounge . serves Alaska, Southwest and Sun Country. the airside was designed by architect Alberto Alfonso and reopened to passengers on April 19, 2005 . serves Air Canada, Delta (with international arrivals to use Airside F), Frontier and WestJet . the current 14-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 . the customs/immigration center is located on level 1 . the concept was later scrapped for unknown reasons . each airside building was three stories tall and included a minimum of ten gates, a cocktail lounge, all of the facilities (except Airside B) were renovated in the early/mid-1990s . all 4 of the original airside buildings have been demolished and either re-built . each airside was maintained by 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 airside C originally housed customs/immigration center for arriving Air Canada and Pan Am international flights . center closed in 1987 and a delta Crown Room (now known as a Delta Sky Club) was added . by the airline soon requested HCAA to build a new facility for them . 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 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 boarding gates were on the third level (as opposed to the second level in the other airsides) this was due to the facility being designed specifically for the DC-10 . the first level was open to allow tugs to drive Continental became Continental’s final major tenant . the airside was demolished in 2000 and replaced by its current facility . original eight C-100 trains were built by westinghouse . the 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 pro the monorail is free to use and runs 24 hours a day except for a once-a-week maintenance shut-down in the overnight hours . Thales Rail Signalling Solutions won a contract in 2008 to completely upgrade the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries America, together with Sumitomo Corporation, constructed and supplied the technology for the new line . it has three runways: 10/28 is 6,999 by 150 feet (2,133 46 m) in May 2019 there were 68 aircraft based at this airport: 54 jet, 7 single-engine, and 7 helicopter . largest passenger aircraft serving TPA on a scheduled basis is the Boeing 777 . the baggage claim areas the codes were assigned names based on aviation and aerospace pioneers to assist color-blind patrons . the blue side names are Neil Armstrong and Amelia Earhart. the red side names include Igor Sikorsky and a third set of elevators have been opened on each side by the SkyConnect entrance . neither core is currently named . the long-term-parking garage also uses the special color-coding system . there is an ongoing expansion of the Economy Parking Garages which is in its second phase of construction . the SunPass Plus program, first introduced at Orlando International Airport, is being implemented at TPA in stages . in early 2009, the the program was expanded to the short- & long-term garages during the summer of 2009 . TIA also provides self-serve lanes in which customers can pay with their credit card instead of waiting in line for the a monorail connects passengers to and from the short-term-parking garage . the garage can hold a total of 7,635 spaces on six levels . there is also a surface lot and overflow lot for construction began in early 2008 on phase II which will be an exact copy of the first phase . in February 2018, the SkyConnect people mover began operations . it includes two large four panel flight status boards, showing real-time arrival information construction began in early 2008 to expand the cell phone waiting lot . the lot contains approximately 125 striped spaces . it is connected to the terminal via a new train called SkyConnect . the bus hub is accessible via a bank of elevators that connect directly to the Rental Car Center . the land immediately to the south of the rental car center can be configured for future light rail or commuter rail services . in 2008 in 2011, CNN ranked TPA sixth among ten of the world’s most loved airports . in 2016, it was named one of the Top 3 airports in the country by condé Nast . the pilot attempted an emergency the pilot ditched the plane and lived, but the gunner bailed out and drowned . this occurred one hour after a USAAF Douglas A-24 crashed in Mullet Key . an eastern air lines captain was two passengers and a flight attendant were injured after they evacuated the aircraft . the Apache was almost destroyed and the pilot, the sole occupant of the aircraft, was killed . primary causes include pilots decision to continue approach below decision height when visibility was below landing minimums . adequacy of current Federal regulations that allow pilots operating under Part 91 to conduct approaches when visibility is below published minimum visibility