Tampa International Airport, Tampa, Florida: A Review

Tampa International Airport is one of my favorite airports, although I must admit I love Raleigh/Durham as well. I once flew in on an international flight and couldn't believe how easy it was to get from immigration and customs to my internal gate.

I use Tampa; we call the airport T.I.A., several times a year. At least one of these flights is International.

If I am going on my own, my husband leaves the car in the short term parking lot. This is a multi-story car park. We learned our lesson early, and always park on the top level. This way he can always find the car after my departure. If you park on any other level, remember to take the number with you.

We then go down to Level 2, in an elevator, which is ticketing. Here all the airlines have their counters. The airline employees are always helpful. When we get our boarding passes, the representative tells us which of the 'legs' we will be leaving from, and which of the escalators to take. Blue for south and Red for north.
The escalator takes us up to Level 3, in the main Terminal building. Here in the center are shops, newsstands, etc. Around the sides are the 'legs' that take us to the different airsides. Before going over we always stop at Burger King, The Garden Cafe, or one of the other restaurants. If time is running short, never worry, a snack bar and gift shop are located at all the airsides.

On the envelope with the boarding passes in them will be the letter for airside A,B,C,D,E, or F. Before the problems with September 11th, people not flying were able to accompany you. Now I have to say my goodbyes and go through the security screening by myself. My International flights leave from airside F, so I get on the shuttle to the gate area. On arrival I check to see in which direction my gate is. There are only a few at each airside, which makes traveling really easy. There are also plenty of monitors to check if your flight is on time.

While waiting in the boarding area, there is a great view of the runways. Yes, I have had delays in Tampa, but most times it has not been the fault of the airport.