Summary Tampa International Airport (TPA) is building its new Airside D terminal for international flights. The facility will have two floors, a modern design, and a connection shuttle. The airport expects the new Airside will increase airline capacity once it is completed in 2028.
Tampa International Airport (TPA) will be building a new 16-gate international airside, with a planned opening in 2028. It will serve as the airport’s international arrivals and departures facility and will be its first new airside in 17 years. The new terminal Airside D will be the major project under the new “Ascend” brand banner, which will represent the airport’s goals and plans for its new building.
It will have two floors, a mezzanine, two airline lounges, and a brand new shuttle system and guideway that will connect the airside to the rest of the airport. This is part of the airport’s “Master Plan,” which involves developing new and existing facilities to accommodate expected future growth. The airport says that the new airside will work towards its goal of serving up to 35 million annual passengers by 2037.
It will have a Customs and Border Protection international arrivals processing facility, a testament to the airport’s expectation of additional growth on that front. It will inevitably also have new shops and dining areas, the TPA says. It adds that the new facility will be “state-of-the-art”.
“Tampa International Airport is working with the design-build team of Hensel Pehlps, HNTB and Gensler to create this modern facility, which will be the first new Airside terminal at TPA in almost 20 years.” The timeline & location The new Airside D will be built between the existing C and E facilities. TPA formerly had an Airside D, but it was torn down in 2007.
The space where Airside D will be built is used as a parking stand for aircraft staying overnight. TPA says that the area can be seen “from the windows behind the food court in the northwest corner of the Main Terminal (Wendy’s, Chick-fil-A and Qdoba).” It is to become the airport’s largest airside, measuring 600,015 square feet.
It will be around 600 feet from east to west and 450 feet from north to south. The airport says that in football field terms, this counts roughly two by one-and-a-half. Get all the latest aviation news right here on Simple Flying Work is expected to be completed in 2028, after groundbreaking slated for this year.
In late 2023, the Hillsborough County Aviation Authority (HCAA) approved the design-build contract. By the end of 2024, groundbreaking and “site-enabling work” will begin, with vertical construction planned for late 2025. TPA aims to have 75% of the work completed by late 2027.
Projected growth Officials say the new airside will be used by “multiple airlines” . In a statement, it revealed the following: “Soon, we will announce an airline that will be the Airside’s anchor tenant and operate one of the two lounge spaces on the mezzanine level.” According to aviation data and analytics firm Cirium , TPA’s main operators by seat capacity (based on August 2024) include Southwest Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and American Airlines.
They will offer a total of around 295,000, 191,000, and 175,000 seats this month, respectively. Southwest holds a 26% market share, Delta has 18%, and American has 17%. The operator was just 29-years-old.
In its master plan, the airport expects annual passenger numbers to reach 30.5 million by 2032, 34.6 million in 2037, and 39 million by 2042.
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