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The US is undergoing a renaissance in terms of its airports, as facilities around the country are being upgraded and countless airfields are receiving new terminals. In 2024, Tampa International Airport (TPA) began work on a new, state-of-the-art airside building that will significantly increase capacity while also offering a modern experience for passengers. It’s the first airside building at TPA in over 20 years, and the airport aims to complete construction in late 2028, opening the facility to the public in 2029.
It’s not a cheap project, as it’ll cost TPA $1.5 billion, but it’s necessary so that the airport can have a future as a major spoke in the region. Like many larger airports, Tampa is constrained and near capacity, so the expansion is necessary to increase passenger capacity. Tampa is not a hub for any of the largest airlines in the US (although it does serve as an operating base for Breeze Airways and Frontier Airlines); however, it is a tremendously popular destination within the US and even offers service to Europe. With this expansion, TPA is preparing for the future.
The New Airside Building At TPA
Tampa is working on a new concourse building set to open in 2029. It’s been named Airside D, and it will be the fifth concourse building at TPA. As it stands today, there is one main landside terminal building that houses all ticketing and baggage functions, which is surrounded by four satellite buildings (Airside A, C, E, and F). The four airside buildings are connected to the landside terminal via automated people movers, and the airport currently features 59 gates in total.
Airside D is the most impactful recent project undertaken by TPA. The new building will include 16 gates, bringing Tampa’s total to 75, and will be located between Airsides C and E. This was the location of the former Airside D, which was torn down in 2007. This area has since been used as an overnight parking spot until TPA elected to construct the new Airside D in this space. It’ll occupy approximately 600,000 square feet (55,742 square meters), making it the largest Airside building at TPA.
Ground broke on Airside D in December 2024, and construction is still ongoing. While it won’t feature more gates than the airport’s current largest airside building, it will be larger overall, allowing it to better handle a high volume of passengers. In addition, Airside D will have more retail and dining options, as well as a modern visual design. It should be the most spacious and impressive passenger facility within TPA, which will be crucial to ensuring the airport’s continued growth.
How The New Concourse Will Be Used
Airside D will include a Customs and Border Protection (CBP) facility, which will make it only the second airside building at TPA with a CBP facility (currently, only Airside F is equipped with CBP). As such, the new building will be used for international flights as well as domestic services. There will be multiple widebody gates to support a significant increase in long-haul traffic. Still, TPA focuses primarily on narrowbody traffic rather than long-haul flights.
In February 2025, 
Delta Air Lines was announced as the anchor tenant for Airside D. It will therefore be the largest operator at the new concourse building and will likely move most of its operations to Airside D upon the concourse’s completion. While Tampa only serves as a spoke for Delta, it does connect to some non-hub airports as well, most notably Austin, Raleigh/Durham, and Cincinnati. In addition, Delta operates nonstop flights between Tampa and Amsterdam during the summer season with an Airbus A330-900.
TPA actually receives fairly substantial international service for a non-hub airport. The airport sees nonstop flights from four European airlines (British Airways, Discover Airlines, Edelweiss, and Virgin Atlantic), along with Avianca. In addition, the airport is served by Air Canada, Aeromexico, Avianca, Cayman Airlines, Copa Airlines, Porter Airlines, and WestJet. It’s an increasingly popular airport for domestic travel and for international visitors, making Airside D crucial for accommodating future demand.
What To Expect On The Inside
Airside D will be the largest concourse building at TPA, with more walking space and higher ceilings than what you see at the airfield today. In addition, it’ll feature a new visual design philosophy titled ‘Ascend‘. The intent is to communicate the ecological environment of the Tampa Bay area and to celebrate TPA’s impact on the community. In addition, passengers will have access to local shopping and dining options, further improving TPA’s contribution to the local area.
The airside will feature two lounges in the mezzanine, one of which has been confirmed to be a Delta Sky Club. Airside D is designed as a two-level building in addition to its mezzanine, and it will feature a new automated people mover that will connect it to the landside terminal. While there will be 16 gates, the same as in Airside A/C, the larger size of Airside D will mean that the building will be able to handle passenger volumes much better than the other airside facilities, making the floor much less crowded.
Current TPA Airsides | Number Of Gates |
|---|---|
Airside A | 16 gates |
Airside C | 16 gates |
Airside E | 13 gates |
Airside F | 14 gates |
Airside D will offer significantly more business outlets than the other airsides and is specifically targeting local business opportunities to raise awareness of the Tampa Bay area and its culture. TPA is working with Hensel Phelps, HNTB, and Gensler to bring Airside D to life. By late 2027, TPA aims to have completed the majority of the building, with construction wrapping up by late 2028. 2029 is the official year given for the building’s opening, although it’s unclear which month this will occur.
Tampa’s Growth Needs
Tampa International Airport, with 59 gates and four Airside buildings, has a maximum capacity of roughly 25 million passengers per year. But in 2025, the airport handled about 24.8 million passengers. It’s practically bursting at the seams. In general, the Sun Belt has been experiencing rapid economic growth, which has contributed to increased air travel, and Florida has been a popular destination. Even within Florida, however, Tampa has been quite popular; 2026 was a record year for Tampa despite Florida as a whole experiencing a slowdown in tourism.
TPA is the fourth-busiest airport in Florida, behind Fort Lauderdale Hollywood International Airport (FLL), Miami International Airport (MIA), and Orlando International Airport (MCO). It’s also one of the busiest airports in the US, isn’t a hub for any of the three US legacy carriers, and is the 27th-busiest airport in the US. It’s a popular destination for domestic travelers, but it also has enough demand to attract long-haul services from European airlines (with Discover Airlines and Edelweiss primarily targeting leisure customers).
European Airports Served From Tampa | Airline | Aircraft |
|---|---|---|
Amsterdam Schiphol Airport (summer only) | Delta Air Lines | Airbus A330-900 |
Frankfurt Airport | Discover Airlines | Airbus A330-300 |
London Gatwick Airport (ending October 2026) | British Airways | Boeing 777-200ER |
London Heathrow Airport (British Airways starts October 2026) | British Airways Virgin Atlantic | Boeing 787-10 Boeing 787-9 |
Zurich Airport | Edelweiss | Airbus A350-900 |
Southwest Airlines is the largest carrier at TPA, while Delta Air Lines is number two. Delta, which does not have a hub in Florida, operates robust schedules to Tampa out of its hubs and also serves some non-hub airports. The carrier has generally been more flexible in operating routes that don’t originate at a hub airport than its competitors have. You also see Delta operating more long-haul flights from non-hub airports than its rivals, with the Tampa-to-Amsterdam route as a prominent example.
Tampa’s Master Plan
Airside D is the third and final phase of TPA’s ‘Master Plan‘. This was an FAA-required study to analyze market data and industry trends to inform the airport on how best to address them. The plan was last updated in 2022, and the full study was approved in 2024, while work on Airside D began later the same year. While Phase Three will have a massive impact on the overall capacity of the airport, the other phases were also quite extensive.
Phase One was completed in 2018 after roughly three years of work. The main focus of this project was a new consolidated rental car facility, which allowed the airport to move these operations out of the terminal. In addition, Phase One included an expanded landside terminal and a new automated people mover. Phase Two, meanwhile, focused primarily on reducing curbside congestion and developing commercial infrastructure to support a significant increase in traffic.
The plan came with an estimated cost of $2.5 billion, with the third phase accounting for $1.5 billion on its own. With future improvements, the airport’s annual capacity should rise to 35 million passengers, representing an additional ten million annual passengers compared to today. This should make TPA well-equipped to accommodate anticipated demand, and the airport should significantly expand its route network in the long term as Tampa continues its rise.
