Tampa International Airport is once again being ranked among the best in the country, even as the busy Hillsborough County hub embarks on its largest expansion in nearly two decades — a multibillion-dollar transformation aimed at handling the surge of travelers flowing into the Tampa Bay region.
For Tampa residents, snowbirds, business travelers heading to Westshore, and the millions of visitors who pass through each year on their way to Bayshore Boulevard, Water Street, or the Gulf beaches, TPA has become a fixture of the region’s identity. National recognition keeps backing that up, and a wave of construction underway through 2026 signals that the airport intends to stay ahead of one of the fastest-growing metro areas in the country.
A Reputation Backed by National Rankings
TPA has built a reputation that goes well beyond local pride. Airports Council International ranked Tampa International Airport #1 in its Airport Service Quality Awards for the third consecutive year, placing it at the top among North American airports serving 15 to 25 million passengers annually. In 2025, ACI collected more than 700,000 surveys from travelers at over 400 airports across 110 countries, measuring 29 key indicators including cleanliness, amenities, staff helpfulness, wayfinding, and security.
TPA finished with an overall satisfaction score of 4.41 out of 5, the highest in its category for departing travelers.
Other national reviews have lined up similarly. USA Today named TPA the Best Large U.S. Airport in its 10Best Readers’ Choice Awards for the second consecutive year, with TPA finishing ahead of major hubs including Nashville, Denver, Orlando, and Salt Lake City. It also took the top spot for Best Airport for Dining a second straight year, a category fueled by local concepts including the Columbia Restaurant, Ulele, Goody Goody, Bavaro’s, and Café by Mise en Place.
In the 2025 J.D. Power North America Airport Satisfaction Study, TPA finished No. 2 in the large airport division, which covers facilities serving roughly 10 million to 32.9 million passengers a year.
- Three straight #1 finishes in the ACI Airport Service Quality Awards
- Two straight years as USA Today’s Best Large U.S. Airport
- A concessions lineup heavy on Tampa-rooted restaurants and brands
- A compact terminal layout designed for short walks from curb to gate
- Fast-growing international service, including new routes to Amsterdam and Bogotá
The Airport Behind the Awards
TPA sits about six miles west of downtown Tampa, just off Memorial Highway and within easy reach of the Veterans Expressway, the Courtney Campbell Causeway, and the Westshore business district. Owned and operated by the Hillsborough County Aviation Authority, the airport serves about 100 nonstop destinations across North America, South America, the Caribbean, and Europe.
The original terminal opened in 1971, and TPA was a pioneer in airport design, becoming one of the first airports in the world to use an automated people mover and color-coded wayfinding to move travelers between landside and airside terminals. That legacy of efficient design continues to shape how the airport is being expanded today.
Inside the $1.5 Billion Airside D Project
The most visible change underway at TPA is Airside D, the airport’s first new airside terminal in nearly 20 years and the centerpiece of Phase 3 of the master plan. The Airside D expansion carries a total investment of $1.528 billion, with construction set to begin in 2026 and the new facility opening in 2029.
The 16-gate, 600,000-square-foot terminal is being built to handle both international and domestic flights and is designed to support up to 35 million passengers annually by 2037. Vertical construction is expected to begin in 2026, with roughly 75% of construction targeted for completion by late 2027 and the new airside opening to the public in 2029.
The new terminal is being built northwest of the Main Terminal, on the same footprint where TPA’s previous Airside D stood before it was torn down in 2007.
Tampa’s Growth Curve
The expansion is being driven by sustained passenger growth that mirrors the broader rise of the Tampa Bay region. TPA carried 24.5 million passengers in fiscal year 2025 and is projecting roughly 3% growth in the following fiscal year, with new international service announcements continuing to pile up.
Ticketing Level Overhaul
Inside the existing Main Terminal, a separate project is preparing the airport’s ticketing level for the next wave of passengers. Tampa International Airport is advancing a $25.4 million contract with Austin Commercial for the first phase of a major ticketing level expansion and reconfiguration, identified as a priority in the airport’s 2022 master plan update.
Plans call for a 14,000-square-foot expansion that will add 28 ticket counters, relocate airline offices into a new 30,000-square-foot space, and rework the existing 135,000-square-foot ticketing area to improve passenger flow. The redesigned area is being built to support a capacity of up to 38 million annual passengers.
More Improvements in Motion This Year
Several other projects are running alongside the headline expansions. TPA is also replacing its automated people mover shuttles serving Airsides A, C, and E with redesigned third-generation vehicles, with new Blue Line shuttles entering service first at Airsides A and C before Red Line vehicles are replaced.
Additional contracts under consideration include a $4.8 million project to replace the airport’s aging paging system, a $12.5 million contract with Burgess Civil to clear approximately 155 acres for wildlife hazard mitigation and expand an employee parking area, and a five-year, $70.8 million consulting contract with RS&H to support design and engineering work across Tampa International and the authority’s general aviation airports.
The airport is also expanding its public art program, a feature that has helped earn it national recognition. TPA is allocating nearly $6 million for eight new commissions, with a call for submissions opened earlier this year.
Why This Matters for Tampa
TPA is one of the most visible economic engines for Tampa and Hillsborough County. The airport supports thousands of local jobs, anchors the Westshore business district’s connectivity to global markets, and shapes the first impression of the region for millions of visitors each year. As Tampa continues to grow with new residential towers downtown, expanding neighborhoods like New Tampa and Town ’N Country, and rising demand at the Port of Tampa Bay, an expanded airport directly affects local commuting, tourism, business recruitment, and housing pressure across the city.
Tampa’s growth has been hard to miss. New high-rises continue to reshape the skyline along Water Street and the Hillsborough River, neighborhoods from Hyde Park to Seminole Heights are seeing rising demand, and the broader Tampa Bay region remains one of the most popular destinations in the country for new residents and visitors. The airport’s investments are designed to keep pace with all of it.
For local commuters, the upgrades should also ease the experience at peak periods. The expanded ticketing level, new shuttle vehicles, and additional Red Express Curbsides for travelers without checked bags are aimed squarely at reducing the bottlenecks that can build during spring break, holiday travel, and major Tampa events such as Gasparilla and the Florida State Fair.
Looking Ahead
With Airside D construction continuing through the rest of the decade, ticketing level work scheduled to advance through design and into construction, and a steady run of national rankings reinforcing TPA’s reputation, the airport is positioning itself for the next phase of Tampa’s growth. Officials have already begun work on the next master plan update, looking ahead to a future in which TPA could serve close to 39 million annual passengers.
For more local news on Tampa’s growth, transportation, and major projects, visit tampa-community.com.
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