Growing Pains

At mid-afternoon on the ground floor of Tampa International Airport, a baggage carousel spins luggage onto a conveyor belt as a trickle of passengers from Columbus, Ohio, stride up to fetch their suitcases. It is an almost leisurely scene that gives no hint of the growth that airport CEO Joe Lopano anticipates, or the need for a costly new terminal envisioned by airport planners long before Lopano's arrival in 2011.

Seven years ago, the airport's ambitious master plan called for the construction of a $1 billion terminal north of the existing building to handle the rising number of passengers, particularly international travelers, with the total bill for airport improvements exceeding $3 billion. Then came the recession, depressing air travel and scuttling the new development. Now, airport planners are back with far more modest changes in mind, but those plans could have a big impact on travelers who rent cars or experience frustrating traffic delays.

Although at mid-afternoon the airport seems calm enough for travelers to admire the gleaming gold and gray floors as they progress to rental cars or the parking lots, at peak hours, the lots are jammed, and rental customers can encounter delays while incoming passengers face curbside congestion stemming from the rental services. It is a scenario that is likely to intensify as the number of travelers rises from the current 17 million to a projected 19.7 million in 2016 and 28.7 million by 2031.

Given the lingering economic risks, and the airport's focus on growing revenues to plow back into capital improvement, it makes more sense to reconfigure the existing terminal, says Lopano, rather than plunging into a costly new terminal project. If the number of travelers rises steeply and the redesigned main terminal isn't sufficient, the airport can build a new terminal at that time.