An Innovation No One Thought was Needed

An inspired solution no one thought was possible

Like most major airports, Tampa International Airport (TPA) is faced with growing passenger traffic and congestion issues. With 58 gates, 23,000 parking spaces, the 3,300-acre facility boasts about 500 daily operations, making it one of the top 30 busiest airports in the US. In 2024, an all-time high of 24.7 million passengers went through Tampa International and future years are expected to increase at 3.5% annually. With the continued increase in passengers, one of the most affected areas has been vehicle traffic, including curbside drop-off areas, where a massive influx of TNC (transit network company) vehicles have added to the gridlock.

Data analytics from traveler profiles indicated that more than 53% of passengers at Tampa International do not check their bags and this will significantly increase with Southwest Airlines’ new charging of checked bag policy.

To find a solution to the increased curbside traffic a unique Express Curbside innovation was inspired by Tom Rossbach. The innovation allows departing passengers with carry-on only baggage to choose, upon approaching the terminal, an “Express Curbside” which provides direct access to security screening and gates, and separates that flow from other passengers seeking airline ticketing and the bag check-in lobby. This would be the first of its kind at any airport.

In the reverse arrival process, this innovation allows arriving passengers who did not check bags to by-pass the baggage claim lobby congestion and go directly to the “express curb” for an expedited pick-up from their chosen mode of transportation. This creative concept provides additional landside curb and road capacity for the airport while offering travelers an expedited process that will result in achieving a higher level of customer service to the airport’s passengers.

The plan added two terminal curb-front buildings, 16 additional express lanes with direct connection to and from the terminal to decongest curbs and meet levels of service requirements for the twenty-year period and beyond. It saves many minutes of processing time for passengers.

While other airports keep adding more islands and lanes in an attempt to address increasing curbside congestion, data has shown this method slows down both vehicle traffic and cross passenger access and is much less safe for passengers.

Al Illustrato, the former VP of facilities, stated, “We never thought about a curb-front expressly for carry-on passengers. It was an innovation we didn't know we needed, but it works beautifully and passengers love it.” 

This has contributed to TPA airport being ranked #1 in the Airport Service Quality (ASQ) Awards by Airports Council International for the second year in a row. In addition, it has been rated #1 in the J.D. Power North America Satisfaction Study for consecutive years, highlighting its consistent performance in passenger satisfaction.