In the last issue of Rubber Meets the Road, the Tampa International Airport Master Plan was featured. Since that article, the new consolidated car rental center is well underway! 450 workers have been busy building the 2.6 million square foot center, and progress is obvious as seen above.
The consolidated car rental center, relocates services away from the main terminal, eliminating 8,500 rental car trips on George Bean Parkway, and will allow rental cars to be ready, returned, stored and maintained on the same 56-acre site. This significantly improves efficiency for rental car operators. When the automated people mover, also planned in Phase I, connects the car rental center to the main terminal, busing can be eliminated freeing up more curbside lanes.
The phased-approach to implementing the Master Plan takes advantage of limited resources being applied to the highest needs at the airport. Support for the important projects are demonstrated in the MPO’s Transportation Improvement Program which shows the greatest dollars to any local transportation agencies allocated to the Aviation Authority.
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More Aviation Authority Good News!
- The Airport operated smoothly throughout the Thanksgiving holiday, with 88% of passengers waiting < 10 minutes at TSA checkpoints.
- October 2015 was the busiest October on record at TIA, with the airport serving nearly 1.5 million passengers, an 8% increase over the previous October.
- The Aviation Authority Board approved new parking procedures, granting free parking to those with a Disabled Veteran tag!
Take a virtual tour of Tampa International Airport’s expansion!