Tampa International Airport (TPA) has a special place in my heart. I grew up in Tampa, so it used to by home airport back when I’d do mileage runs. My dad still lives in Tampa, so it’s an airport I return to all the time. On top of that, it’s just generally an awesome mid-size airport — it’s so easy to use thanks to the central concourse, with several smaller terminals.
In late 2024, Tampa Airport previewed its first new terminal in around 20 years. I’d like to provide an update, as the terminal’s final design has just been revealed, along with some additional updates.
The basics of the new Tampa Airport Airside D
Tampa Airport’s new Airside D is expected to open to the public in 2029, so the bad news is that we’ll have to wait at least a few more years before this becomes a reality (a year ago the opening was supposed to be in 2028, so that’s not exactly great progress so far!).
Airside D is intended to help the airport grow from 25 million to 35 million passengers per year by 2037, so it’s a vital part of the airport’s overall vision for expansion.
The new Tampa Airport Airside D is expected to cost a little over $1.5 billion to build, and will feature:
- A total of 16 gates, including an international passenger arrival processing area, meaning this will be the new terminal for international flights
- An orthogonal shape with 600,000 square feet, for greater space and operational efficiency; it’ll be connected from the main terminal by a shuttle system, as is the case with the current setup
- A mezzanine level for two airline lounges with views of the airfield and the bay
- Shopping and dining locations at the center of the airside, offering 360-degree views of the gates
- A large open space featuring intuitive wayfinding and natural light
The airport has just released renderings of the finalized design for Airside D, which have been made public for the first time. The renderings show soaring ceilings, bright interiors, a large international arrivals corridor, and more.
Tampa Airport Airside D will house Delta, two lounges
So far, we know that Delta will be one of the primary tenants of Tampa Airport Airside D, and will be getting at least six gates in the new terminal. Presumably all international airlines will fly here, so you can also expect this to house carriers like Aeromexico, Avianca, British Airways, Copa Airlines, Discover Airlines, Edelweiss Air, Virgin Atlantic, etc.
We also know that this terminal will be getting two lounges. So far, it has been confirmed that Delta will be opening an 18,000 square foot Sky Club in the terminal, which should be a major improvement over the current lounge.
More broadly, I’m excited to see the lounge portfolio at Tampa Airport grow, and I’m curious to see what kind of terminal “musical chairs” we see.
Currently Tampa has only three lounges — an American Admirals Club in Airside F, a Delta Sky Club in Airside E, and the International Club Lounge in Airside F (used by Virgin Atlantic). Those are the only options, and there are no other lounges.
While I love Tampa Airport’s small concourses for the purposes of easily getting from the curb to the gate, the various concourses aren’t connected airside, so this isn’t ideal in terms of lounge access. For example, airlines like Discover and Edelweiss depart from Airside F, but can’t offer their premium passengers any lounge access.
With Delta moving to Airside D, I can’t help but wonder what this means for the overall terminal dynamics:
- I think it’s likely that American and United won’t be moving to Airside D, since it’s unlikely they’d have the available gate space, with Delta taking at least six of the 16 gates, plus international flights departing from there
- This means that the Delta Sky Club in Airside E will become vacant; could we see United move from Airside A to Airside E, and take over the space of the former Delta Sky Club? That seems like a real possibility to me, but who knows…
- The second lounge in Airside D won’t be an airline lounge, but will instead be a common-use lounge; maybe it will be a lounge accessible with Priority Pass, since that’s good for passengers in general, and it’s also valuable in terms of all international airlines having somewhere to send premium passengers
- While I’d love to see it, I suspect that Tampa Airport won’t be getting a credit card lounge, like an Amex Centurion Lounge, Capital One Lounge, or Chase Sapphire Lounge; after all, these lounges don’t generally act as contract lounges, and that’ll be needed for all the international departures
I wonder if we’ll see Delta expand its network in Tampa, or if the carrier is happy with its current growth. Right now, Delta offers flights to Amsterdam (AMS), plus joint venture partner Virgin Atlantic flies to London (LHR).
Bottom line
In 2029, Tampa Airport will be getting its first new concourse in 20 years, with the opening of Airside D. This will be the airport’s new international terminal, and it’ll be over 600,000 square feet, will feature 16 gates, and will have two lounges.
Delta will be one of the primary tenants in the concourse. Delta will have at least six of the 16 gates, and will also have an 18,000 square foot Sky Club. It remains to be seen what the second lounge will be, though it’s expected to be a common use lounge… maybe The Club at TPA?
What do you make of the plans for Tampa Airport Airside D?
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