Tampa International Airport

Tampa International Airport, is a major public airport located six nautical miles (11 km) west of the central business district of Tampa, in Hillsborough County, Florida, United States. This airport is publicly owned by Hillsborough County Aviation Authority. It serves the Tampa Bay Area and has been widely praised for its attractive architecture and Landside/Airside design of a central terminal ("landside") connected by people movers to satellite airline gates ("airsides"), a pioneering concept when initially designed in the late 1960s. The airport was known as Drew Field Municipal Airport until 1952.

Tampa International Airport currently serves as a main hub for Gulfstream International Airlines under the Continental Connection name. Upon the integration of AirTran Airways and Southwest Airlines, the merged airline will serve over 40 non-stop destinations from Tampa. Today, Southwest Airlines carries the largest share of TPA passengers, operating a peak-season schedule of over 80 daily flights. The airport presently serves 71 non-stop destinations, including international service to the United Kingdom, Canada, Mexico and to destinations throughout the Caribbean. The airport handled 16,645,765 passengers in 2010, making it the 30th busiest airport by passenger movements in North America. International Plaza and Bay Street is adjacent to the airport.

History

Tampa Bay was the birthplace of commercial airline service, when pioneer aviator Tony Jannus flew the inaugural flight of the St. Petersburg-Tampa Airboat Line on January 1, 1914, from St. Petersburg, Florida, to Tampa using a Benoist Flying Boat — the first scheduled commercial airline flight in the world using a heavier-than-air airplane.

Drew Field

In 1928 the city completed the 160-acre (0.65 km2) Drew Field six miles (10 km) west of Downtown Tampa. The more popular Peter O. Knight Airport was opened on Davis Islands near Downtown Tampa in 1935, where both Eastern and National Airlines operated until 1946.

The United States Army Air Force took over Drew Field during World War II and expanded and modernized the airport. The airfield was used by Third Air Force and renamed it Drew Army Airfield. Third Air Force used it as a training center by 120,000 combat air crews and flew antisubmarine patrols from the airfield. There was one accident in 1943 that killed five fliers. Despite this, Drew Field set a safety record for the Third Air Force in 1945 after 100,000 flying hours had been completed over a period of 10 months without a fatal incident. The aircraft operated included the B-17, C-47, AT-6, B-25, and others.

Tampa International Airport

After the hostilities, Eastern and National Airlines moved to Drew Field. The reason for the relocation was that the Peter O. Knight Airport was too small to handle the new Douglas DC-4, DC-6 and Lockheed Constellation prop-liners that were being placed into service. During this period the airlines were housed in the former Base Operations Building which was converted into a terminal.

Trans Canada Airlines inaugurated international flights in 1950 and Drew Field was renamed Tampa International Airport. The airport's second terminal opened in 1952 near the intersection of Columbus Drive and West Shore Blvd. The building, which was built for three airlines, was soon swamped. The Civil Aeronautics Board granted Capital, Delta, Northeast, Northwest and Trans World Airlines authority to fly to Tampa during the late 1950s and as a result created havoc at the undersized terminal. An annex was built east of the terminal to accommodate the new carriers.

Jet-powered operations began in 1959 when Eastern Air Lines introduced the Lockheed L-188 Electra. The following year National Airlines began turbojet service with the Douglas DC-8 jetliner. Flights to Mexico City began in 1961 with weekly service by Pan American.

Congestion became a serious problem at the 1952 Terminal when the airlines began to replace their piston-powered equipment with larger jetliners. As a temporary measure the terminal was once again expanded to handle the growth in traffic.

Terminal, airlines and destinations

Tampa International Airport's Landside/Airside terminal was the first of its type in the world. There is a central Landside Terminal where baggage and ticketing functions take place. The Landside Terminal is surrounded by four Airside satellites where airliner embarkment and disembarkment occur. Each Airside is connected to the Landside Terminal via an elevated automated people mover (APM) system which employs 16 Bombardier Innovia APM 100 Shuttle Cars. TPA was the first airport in the world to deploy a fully automated, driver-less people mover system and is host to Bombardier Transportation's longest-running APM system. The terminal was originally designed to limit the walking distance between the automobile and airliner to 700 feet (210 m); today, it has increased to about 1,000 feet (300 m), due mostly in part to the larger, more modern airside buildings which have replaced the original, smaller structures. The future of the Airport is certain to see continued growth and success. Many plans have been set in motion to expand the airport and its facilities as the Tampa Bay area continues to thrive.

Airsides

Today, there are four active airsides (A, C, E and F) with 62 gates. All were constructed after 1985 and all airsides include a food court and gift shop, and outdoor smoking patios. Airsides E and F contain duty free shops in addition to the regular gift shops to serve passengers arriving or departing on international flights. As of 2011, the security screening area in each airside is equipped with Advanced Imaging Technology (AIT) walk-thru detection machines, made by L3 Communications, whose devices use Millimeter wave scanner#Possible health effects millimeter wave technology and not backscatter radiation. A brief description of each airside and the airlines they occupy are listed below, including the major cities/hubs that each airline serves from TPA.

Airside A

includes gates 1-12 and 14-18

it was opened on March 16, 1995 and was designed by Continental Airlines

Airside C

includes gates 30-45

it was the last airside to be demolished and rebuilt from the ground up; it was reopened to passengers on April 19, 2005

Airside E

includes gates 62-75

it was the first airside to be demolished and rebuilt

the current fourteen-gate facility was designed for Delta Air Lines and was dedicated and opened to passengers on October 15, 2002

the facility includes one airline lounge: the Delta Air Lines "Sky Club"

Airside F

includes gates 76-90

it was opened on November 4, 1987 and was designed for international flights

the facility includes two airline lounges: the US Airways' Club and the International Club which is used by British Airways passengers

the customs/immigration center is located on level

Public art program

The Airport's public art program was established in 1998 to enhance the traveling public's experience and to bring forth Florida's history and culture. A committee selects the art through a jury process.

Permanent exhibits:

Landside Terminal Level 3 at the observation deck includes paintings, sculptures, glass art and mixed media presentations. Various artists contributed.

Airside E boasts a collection of seven WPA (Works Projects Administration) murals which were originally painted in the 1930s and restored for display. These originally adorned the Peter O. Knight Airport until 1965. Artist is George Snow Hill.

Landside Terminal Level 2 has a collection of copper, nickel, silver and bronze alloy suspended Pelicans and a mangrove tree sculpture. Original to the airport when it opened in 1971 the collection is known as "The Meeting Place". The mangrove tree is 15 feet (4.6 m) tall with a flock of 22 life-sized pelicans all in copper roosting and circling around. Pelicans are also "flying" above the escalators. Artist Roy Butler of Plantation, FL.

Landside Terminal Level 2 near the United ticket counters is a presentation of 28 Cirkut images (A type of Kodak camera). They are 20.8 x 10 feet (3.0 m). The photographs depict the unique history of social and urban growth of Tampa, FL and the west coast. Included are a team photo of the New York Yankees (1927) and a 1922 Gasparilla Invasion. Artist: Brothers Al and Jean Bugert

Blue Side Baggage Claim includes artwork by Elle Terry Leonard and Josh Johnson above the marine exhibit.

Airport Chapel level 3 of the Main Terminal has the first ever commissioned artwork of glass art adorning the entryway door and interior. Artist Yvonne Barlog.

Richard J. Frank's watercolor on paper "Off Doolin" hangs in the shopping arcade of the landside Terminal.

Ticket Level/Red Baggage Claim Tapestries were hand-made by twenty women from Phumalanga, Swaziland in Africa. Each is 34 feet (10 m) by 8 feet (2.4 m) and depict familiar Florida nature scenes. They serve two purposes. The first is to provide eye-pleasing decoration and the second is to provide a sound absorption method.

Red Baggage Claim Aquarium tile collage by E. Joseph McCarty.

Main Terminal Level 3 "World Traveler" glass vase. Uses the graal and overlay technique by Duncan McClellan.

The Airport also has a collection of rotating work and exhibits on loan in addition to the permanent collections. They include the exhibit at Airside A security screening and the gallery in the arcade to the Marriott Hotel.

Airside C includes: (totaling over $1 million)

Spiraculum, a collection of twenty-six mosaic floor medallions at the shuttle lobby by Kristin Jones and Andrew Ginzel.

Final Boarding Call, an 11 ft (3.4 m) by 17 ft (5.2 m) Oil painting on Belgium linen by Christopher Still. It's located at the TSA checkpoint.

q, a 90-foot (27 m) long sculpture of cut-out figures. It depicts travelers from different time periods and forms a timeline of advances in airline travel.

Barnstormer, an 8-foot-tall (2.4 m) silicon bronze statue of a pioneer pilot. It weighs more than 1,000 pounds and sits atop a 4-foot (1.2 m) high cement pedestal. Artist: Harrison Covington

Orange Blossom, an aluminum sculpture by Stephen Robin. The fragrant flower blooms in the spring and is Florida's state flower. This sculpture is 13 ft (4.0 m) by 9 ft (2.7 m) by 5 ft (1.5 m) and weighs about 1,300 lb (590 kg).

[edit]One Buc Place

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers' team headquarters were adjacent to the airport from their inception in the 1976 to 2006, when they moved to a new facility at the former Tampa Bay Center. It is located just across the street from their home field, Raymond James Stadium, and close to the airport.

Accidents and incidents

In 1943, five people were killed when their B-26 crashed on a flight from Avon Park to Eglin field. The pilot attempted an emergency landing at Drew Field and overshot the runway. Two others on board survived. This occurred one hour after an A-24 flying out of Drew Field crashed in Mullet Key near St. Petersburg, a bombing range at the time. The pilot ditched the plane and lived but the gunner bailed out and drowned.

On November 6, 1986, an Eastern Airlines Captain, George Baines, Age 56, was flying in his private aircraft, Piper PA-23, (N2185P) from his home to Tampa International to catch a flight. As he approached Tampa International's 36L (now 1L) with 1/16 Mile Visibility in Fog, he declared a Missed Approach and went around to try it again. On the second attempt, he touched down on a parallel Taxiway and ultimately collided with a Pan-Am 727 that was taxing on this taxiway. Mr. Baines lost his life in the accident and was the only fatality. No other injuries were reported.

On June 27, 2009, US Airways flight 1241 underwent a rough landing causing the front tire to blow. Subsequently the blown tire caused the landing gear to collapse. None of the passengers or crew on board reported any injuries. However, television pitchman Billy Mays was on this flight and was hit on the head, possibly by falling luggage out of the overhead compartments, during the rough landing; he was found dead the following morning. No evidence of interior or exterior head trauma was discovered during the autopsy.