Tampa International Airport (TPA) broke ground this week on the second phase of its Master Plan expansion that includes 16 new express curbsides tailored to passengers without checked luggage.
The innovative express curbsides will allow guests to bypass the ticketing level or baggage claim areas via a new vertical circulation building that leads to shuttles that will take them to the airside of the airport. Those without a boarding pass will be able to print one out along the way at conveniently located kiosks.
Arriving travelers without luggage will also be able to quickly access ground transportation without interacting with baggage claim activity.
“This new curbside project is part of an expansion plan that will allow this airport to serve 34 million passengers every year – and that matters,” says Robert Watkins , chairman of the Hillsborough County Aviation Authority, operators of TPA. “As this community – and state – continues to prosper and grow, this airport must also continue to grow to serve it.”
The TPA Phase 2 Master Plan projects also includes a state-of-the-art Central Utility Plant that will help the airport run more efficiently and sustainably, a concessions loading dock, and the demolition of the airport’s old administration building.
Phase 2 also includes the development of the SkyCenter, a 35-acre site located near the Rental Car Center that will be home to a new nine story office building, hotel, new retail space and a connections to Tampa Bay’s regional trail system
The third and final phase of airport’s expansion calls for the construction of a new Airside Terminal D.
