Tampa International Airport is the third-largest airport in Florida, with more than 19 million passengers in 2007, an increase of 1.5% over 2006. It is located 10 km west of the central business district from Tampa in Hillsborough County, with Highway 60 passing the airport entrance just east of the start of the Courtney Campbell Causeway and just south of the end of the Veterans Expressway. The airport entrance is well signposted and is west of Westshore Boulevard, accessed via I-275 Exit 39 or via Spruce Street or Columbus Drive heading west from Tampa.
The Tampa International Airport terminal was the first of its kind in the world with four air-side satellites connected to the main building via an automated people mover (APM). The terminal was originally designed to limit the walking distance between the car and the plane to 700 feet, but has now increased to about 1,000 feet due to the new larger buildings on the airside.
When you arrive at the Tampa airport, you can rent a car from one of the car rental agencies based in the terminal building, or you can arrange transportation to the city at one of the Interactive Ground Transportation information kiosks at the baggage claim area near the escalators. . There are shared passenger van services as well as several city buses that travel to Tampa and other destinations.
Taxi service is provided from the Commercial Ground Transportation Quadrants located at the four corners of the Baggage Claim Level. Yellow Cab and United Cab taxis can be found on the curb outside the baggage claim areas. They both charge the same rates: $ 2 plus $ 2 per mile.
Passenger pickups can be found in the bus slots in the Ground Transportation Quadrants. HARTline Rapid Transit is located on the east end of the red baggage claim curb next to belt no. 20, and the route map and timetable are at the bus stop.
There is no train station at the Tampa airport, but there is an Amtrak station in downtown Tampa at 601 Nebraska Avenue that can be reached by taxi or the Hartline rapid transit bus. The station and the ticket office are open every day from 08:15 to 17:15.
The baggage claim area is divided into red and blue sections. If you are heading to the red area but need to be in the blue area, you need to go to level 2 and cross the lobby area where you can take the stairs (or the elevator) to level 1.
You can drop off passengers at the entrance of the terminal building, but do not park or leave your vehicle there as it will be towed. Parking is available for short and long stays next to the airport terminal. There is also remote inexpensive parking connected by a bus and valet parking is also available in the short term garage.
When you enter the terminal building, you will notice that the check-in / ticketing area is also divided into two sections: red on the north side and blue on the south side. There is a good variety of places to eat and drink at the airport before and after the security check. There is also a wide variety of shops at the Tampa airport both in the public areas and in the passenger areas. The Tampa airport has a bank, ATMs and exchange offices. The business center at the airport offers Internet access, fax and photocopying and the Airport Marriott is located in the terminal with its own business center and conference rooms.