Left: Design rendering of Tampa Airport’s US$1bn expansion project
Tampa International Airport in Florida has recorded its busiest fiscal year since 2008 after nearly 18.5 million passengers passed through its terminals. The total represents a 6.7% increase over FY2014 when the airport served 17.3 million passengers.
This is the fifth year in a row that the airport operator, the Hillsborough County Aviation Authority (HCAA), has seen year-on-year growth rates. It is also the largest year-on-year passenger growth rate at the airport in a decade.
Growth in both domestic and international markets contributed to a strong performance in 2015, with the airport seeing a 14.9% jump in international passenger numbers and a 6.4% jump domestically. The airport served 684,799 international passengers in FY 2015, marking a 73% growth in international passenger traffic since 2010.
Tampa Airport is currently undertaking a US$1bn Master Plan that involves the expansion of the main terminal and the addition of a new consolidated rental car center connected to the main terminal by an automated people mover (APM).
Joe Lopano, CEO for Tampa International, said, “This has been an exciting year for Tampa International Airport and the Tampa Bay community as we’ve worked together to make this one of the best years in airport history. The tremendous growth speaks volumes to what we can accomplish when we work as a team. The support of our HCAA board, our community partners, our new and existing airlines and our local government leaders has been critical to Tampa International Airport’s success in 2015.”