Tampa International Airport
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Tampa International Airport Template:Airport codes is an airport located in Tampa, Florida in the United States, serving the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater area. Tampa's airport is famously beautiful, and is regarded as hassle-free with its simple "Red Airlines" and "Blue Airlines" system.
The airport is located in the International Plaza/Westshore district. International Plaza and Bay Street is an upscale mall that almost exclusively serves passengers arriving and departing from Tampa International Airport.
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History
Tampa Bay was the birthplace of commercial airline service. The St Petersburg Tampa Airboat Line began operations on New Year's day 1914 flying between the two cities' waterfronts. A Benoist Flying Boat flown by pioneer aviator Tonny Jannus was used on the first flight. Unfortunately the airline ceased operations by the middle of the year.
In 1928 the city completed the 160-acre Drew Field six miles west of Downtown Tampa. A second more popular airport (Peter O' Knight) was opened on Davis Island near Downtown Tampa in 1935. This airport had a small but lovely Art-Deco Terminal that was constructed by the WPA. Both Eastern and National Airlines occupied the airport until 1946.
The government took over Drew Field during World War II and expanded and modernized the airport. It was during this period that the airport was renamed Drew Army Airbase and was used as a training center by 120,000 combat air crews.
After the hostilites Eastern and National Airlines moved to Drew Field. The reason for the relocation was that the Peter O' Knight Airport was too small to handle the new Douglas DC-4, DC-6 and Lockheed Constellation prop-liners that were being placed into service. During this period the airlines were housed in the former Base Operations Building which was converted into a terminal.
Trans Canada Airlines inuagurated international flights 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 building which was built for three airlines was soon swamped. The Civil Aeronautics Board granted Capital, Delta, Northeast, Northwest and Trans World Airlines authority to fly to Tampa during the late 1950s and as a result created havoc at the little terminal. An annex was built east of the terminal to accommodate the new carriers.
Jet-powered operations began in 1959 when Eastern Airlines introduced the Lockheed L-188 Electra. The following year National Airlines began turbojet service with the Douglas DC-8 jetliner.
Flights to Mexico City began in 1961 with weekly service by Pan American.
Congestion became a serious problem at the 1952 Terminal when the airlines began to replace their piston powered equipment with larger jetliners. As a temporary measure the terminal was once again expanded to handle the growth in traffic.
During the early 1960s the aviation authority began making plans to build a replacement terminal in an undeveloped site at the airport. Airport leaders chose the Landside/Airside design in 1965 after a careful study of different types of terminals.
Construction on the new terminal began in 1968 between the airport's parallel jet-capable runways. When completed in 1971 the new jetport was highly praised by the press. Prior to its official April 15 opening 60,000 people toured the new facility during a two day open house event. National Airlines flight 36 from LAX was the first to arrive at the terminal. After touching down at 05:26 am the jet taxied to Airside E to disembark its passengers.
The 200 foot tall ATC Control Tower became operational in 1972 and at the time was the tallest in the United States. The Host/Marriott Airport Hotel with its revolving rooftop restaurant got plenty of attention when it opened its doors on December 1973.
Northwest 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 introduction of the Lockheed L-1011 a year later by Eastern Airlines.
National Airlines began trans Atlantic service DC-10 service to Amsterdam and Paris in 1977.
During the following decades the airport was expanded and improved to handle more traffic and additional airlines. New facilities included aircargo terminals, general aviation terminals and numerous airfield improvements. The Landside/Airside Terminal was expanded and its interiors were remodeled. New Airsides designed to handle larger airliners and more passengers replaced the four original structures. Both Delta and US Airways opened maintenance bases at the airport to service their growing fleets.
The present terminal facilities are quickly reaching their design capacity of 20-million passengers a year. Improvements currently in progress will increase capacity to 25-million passengers a year. Sometime within the next ten years constructon will begin on a second Landside/Airside terminal that will occupy the site north of the existing facilty. When completed both terminals and a fourth runway will allow the airport to serve over 50-million passengers a year.
Terminal
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 CX-100 Shuttle Cars. TIA was the first airport in the world to deploy a fully automated people mover system and is host to Bombardier’s longest running APM system. The terminal was designed to limit the walking distance between the automobile and airliner to 700 feet.
Currently there are four active Airsides: A, C, E and F with over 60 gates. Airside B (previously vacant and once occupied by Eastern Airlines) has been demolished and replaced with a Baggage Sorting Building. Airside C was recently dedicated after it was completly rebuilt. Airside D will be demolished pending future development. Airsides A, C, E and F are modern state-of-the-art facilities and the latter handles international flights.
A new runway is being planned (17-35) to increase capacity in fair-weather conditions and a second Landside Airside Terminal will be built in the 2010s. A economy parking garage is currently being constructed on the site of the present remote economy parking lot. Phase I will provide an additional 3,400 parking spaces, scheduled for completion in November of 2005.
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.
Red Side
- Air Canada (Toronto)
- AirTran Airways (Akron/Canton, Atlanta, Dayton, Flint, Gulfport, Philadelphia, and Rochester)
- America West Airlines (Las Vegas and Phoenix)
- British Airways (London/Gatwick)
- Cayman Airways (Grand Cayman Island)
- Continental Airlines (Cleveland, Houston/Intercontinental, and Newark)
- Gulfstream International Airlines dba Continental Connection (Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood, Fort Myers, Fort Walton Beach, Gainesville, Jacksonville, Key West, Miami, Pensacola, Tallahassee, and West Palm Beach)
- Frontier Airlines (Denver)
- Independence Air (Washington/Dulles)
- Midwest Airlines (Milwaukee)
- Southwest Airlines (Albuquerque, Austin, Baltimore/Washington, Birmingham, Buffalo, Chicago/Midway, Columbus, Ft. Lauderdale/Hollywood, Hartford, Houston/Hobby, Indianapolis, Jacksonville, Kansas City, Las Vegas, Long Island/Islip, Louisville, Manchester, Nashville, New Orleans, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Providence, Raleigh/Durham, St. Louis, San Antonio, and West Palm Beach)
- Spirit Airlines (Atlantic City, Chicago/O'Hare, and Detroit)
- United Airlines dba Ted (Denver and Washington/Dulles)
- WestJet (Toronto)
Blue Side
- American Airlines (Chicago/O'Hare, Dallas/Fort Worth, Miami, New York/LaGuardia, San Juan, and St. Louis)
- Executive Air dba American Eagle (Nassau)
- Chautauqua Airlines dba Delta Connection (Charleston, Columbia, Columbus, Dayton, Greensboro, Greenville, Huntsville, Knoxville, Pensacola, Raleigh/Durham, and Tallahassee)
- Comair dba Delta Connection (Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky (Covington (KY))
- Delta Air Lines (Atlanta, Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky (Covington (KY), and Salt Lake City)
- JetBlue (Boston and New York/Kennedy)
- Northwest Airlines/KLM (Detroit, Memphis, and Minneapolis/St. Paul)
- Delta dba Song (Boston, Hartford, Los Angeles, New York/Kennedy, and New York/LaGuardia)
- Sun Country (Minneapolis/St. Paul)
- US Airways (Charlotte, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Washington/Reagan)
Flights
Airside A
- America West Airlines (Las Vegas and Phoenix)
- Continental Airlines (Cleveland, Houston/Intercontinental, and Newark)
- Frontier Airlines (Denver)
- Gulfstream International Airlines dba Continental Connection (Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood, Fort Myers, Fort Walton Beach, Gainesville, Jacksonville, Key West, Miami, Pensacola, Tallahassee, and West Palm Beach)
- Northwest Airlines/KLM (Detroit, Memphis, and Minneapolis/St. Paul)
- AirTran Airways (Akron/Canton, Atlanta, Dayton, Flint, Gulfport, Philadelphia, and Rochester)
Airside C
- Southwest Airlines (Albuquerque, Austin, Baltimore/Washington, Birmingham, Buffalo, Chicago/Midway, Columbus, Ft. Lauderdale/Hollywood, Hartford, Houston/Hobby, Indianapolis, Jacksonville, Kansas City, Las Vegas, Long Island/Islip, Louisville, Manchester, Nashville, New Orleans, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Providence, Raleigh/Durham, St. Louis, San Antonio, and West Palm Beach)
- Independence Air (Washington/Dulles)
- JetBlue (Boston and New York/Kennedy)
- Midwest Airlines (Milwaukee)
- Spirit Airlines (Atlantic City, Chicago/O'Hare, and Detroit)
Airside D
- CLOSED
Airside E
- Air Canada (Toronto)
- Chautauqua Airlines dba Delta Connection (Charleston, Columbia, Columbus, Dayton, Greensboro, Greenville, Huntsville, Knoxville, Pensacola, Raleigh/Durham, and Tallahassee)
- Comair dba Delta Connection (Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky (Covington (KY))
- Delta Air Lines (Atlanta, Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky (Covington (KY), and Salt Lake City)
- Delta dba Song (Boston, Hartford, Los Angeles, New York/Kennedy, and New York/LaGuardia)
- Sun Country (Minneapolis/St. Paul)
- United Airlines dba Ted (Denver and Washington/Dulles)
Airside F
- American Airlines (Chicago/O'Hare, Dallas/Fort Worth, Miami, New York/LaGuardia, San Juan, and St. Louis)
- British Airways (London/Gatwick)
- Cayman Airways (Grand Cayman Island)
- Executive Air dba American Eagle (Nassau)
- US Airways (Charlotte, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Washington/Reagan)
- WestJet (Toronto)
Ground Operations
America West Airlines is taken care of by Continental.
British Airways is taken care of by American Airlines
Cayman Airways is taken care of by USAirways.
Frontier Airlines is taken care of by Continental.
KLM is taken care of by Northwest.
Midwest Airlines is taken care of by Spirit Airlines.
Sun Country is taken care of by Delta and Delta dba Song.
External links
- Tampa International Airport Homepage (http://www.tampaairport.com/)
- Juan's Tampa International Airport Fan-Page (http://www.geocities.com/anastasia757)
Tampa Airport Pictures (http://www.tampaairportpictures.com)ja:タンパ国際空港