Tampa International Airport

At TPA Airport, planes gotta fly, fish gotta swim

Attractions, , ,

Two 2,000-gallon aquatic exhibits are now back on view in the Red and Blue Baggage Claim areas at Tampa International Airport (TPA).

The exhibits, created and maintained by the Florida Aquarium, were first installed at the airport back in 1998 to offer a colorful and calming welcome for travelers arriving in Tampa.

The fish were removed in the summer of 2024 to make sure they stayed safe during a construction project that is now complete.

The tanks are now back in place and are filled with several species of fish, including blue striped grunts, porkfish, sharp nose puffers, barred hamlets, royal gramma, a French angelfish, and several tangs.

Fishy things at other airports

A handful of other airports have aquariums and fish-related installations.

One of our favorites is at Vancouver International Airport (YVR), which has worked with the Vancouver Aquarium since 2007 to maintain a giant tank in the airport with more than 5,000 marine creatures that are native to British Columbia.

Located post security in the International Terminal, you can spot Wolf Eels, Sea Stars, Sea Urchins and 21 different species of fish.

Last minute shopping? Do it at the airport

Airport shops,

Christmas came early for some lucky folks at San Antonio International Airport (SAT) who were invited to visit a giant suitcase vending machine filled with free gifts such as tortilla blankets and concha slippers from H-E-B grocers.

Not all airports have giant suitcase vending machines filled with free stuff.

But if you’re traveling for the holidays and still need to buy some great gifts, keep in mind that at most airports, the shops open very early and stay open very late.

Many airports have free gift wrapping stations too.

Free holiday movies at Tampa Int’l Airport

Events,

“The Grinch” and “Elf” for free at TPA

Tampa International Airport (TPA) has a giant flamingo greeting travelers in the main terminal year round. During this holiday season the airport also has free movies.

On December 6, the holiday favorite “The Grinch” will be shown and on December 13 the “Elf” with Will Ferrell and James Caan will be shown for free in TPA’s pre-security Main Terminal Event Space on Level 3 between the shuttles for Airsides E and F.

The space will open at 4 p.m. and the movies will begin at 4:30 p.m. As a bonus, TPA will also provide free popcorn for moviegoers.

Saturday, Dec. 6th

grinch-movie-poster

Saturday, Dec. 13th

Elf-Movie-Poster

Visit these airports without a ticket to fly

Airports,

Shall we just blame the delay on the flamingo?

Back in 2019, Tampa International Airport (TPA) was one of the earliest airports to establish a program that allows non-flyers past security so they can shop, dine, meet arriving passengers or go with a traveler to the gate.

And like other airports with gate pass programs, TPA put that program on hold during the pandemic.

Many other airports have already brought back their gate pass programs or rolled out new programs.

TPA has been a holdout. But their gate pass program returned on November 3, 2025.

And in late November, a new airport joined the list: Albuquerque International Sunport (ABQ) introduced a FlySide Pass.

Airport gate pass programs (as of 12/25)

Cleveland Hopkins Interational Airport (CLE) offer the Hopkins Hangout Pass

The Wingmate Pass at Philadelphia International Airport.

Seattle Tacoma International Airport (SEA): SEA Visitor Pass Program.

The MSY Guest Pass Program at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport (MSY)

DTW Destinaton Pass at Detroit Metropolitan Airport (DTW)

BNA Passport at Nashville International Airport (BNA)

Capital Region International Airport (LAN) in Lansing, MI: the LAN Visitor Pass.

OC AirPass at John Wayne Airport (SNA) in Orange County, CA,

ONT+ Visitor Pass Program at California’s Ontario International Airport (ONT)

Kansas City International Airport (MCI) recently rolled out its MCI Guest Pass Program

Palm Springs International Airport (PSP) has a Stay and Play Visitor Pass

San Diego International Airport (SAN) offers the SAN Pass for Terminals 1 and 2.

Tampa International Airport and its TPA All Access pass back on the list.

Albuquerque International Sunport (ABQ) offers the FlySide Pass.

More airports offering food, other support for federal workers during shutdown

Airports, ,

We shared information a few days ago about how Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) and others are joining with community groups to offer food and other support to TSA officers, air traffic controllers and other federal workers who aren’t getting paychecks during the government shutdown but are still expected to show up for work at airports.

Now more airports are joining the list.

Tampa International Airport (TPA) is working with United Way Suncoast and Feeding Tampa Bay to gather resources for the airport’s approximately 1,100 federal employees from the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

Support includes a food pantry and assistance with childcare, utilities and transportation.

The assistance (called Operation Bald Eagle II) is set to begin next week to align with when those federal employees will start missing money out of their paycheck, the airport told us. Two weeks later, they would miss their first full paycheck should the government shutdown continue.

And Reno-Tahoe International Airport (RNO) announced today that it is partnering with local social service groups, the Children’s Cabinet and the Food Bank of Northern Nevada, to assist federal workers working without pay, including TSA, Customs and Border Protection and Federal Aviation Administration staff.

An assigned rep from the Children’s Cabinet will help provide affected federal employees (those with children or not) with resources such as food, diapers and household items. The Food Bank of Northern Nevada is making its pantry program and other food resources available to affected federal workers.

We’ll update this list as more information becomes available.

We met Tampa Int’l Airport’s giant flamingo

Art, , ,

The Stuck at The Airport arts team is a big fan of big art at airports.

And Tampa International Airport’s (TPA) giant flamingo doesn’t disappoint.

The sculpture is 21 feet tall and lives in TPA’s main terminal. The creation of artist Matthew Mazzota, the sculpture is officially titled “Home.” But thanks to a naming contest hosted by the airport last year, the big bird is now better known as Phoebe.

We finally got to meet Phoebe in person and have to say we are just wowed.

The flamingo isn’t the only newish big work of art at TPA Airport. And far from the only appealing artwork in TPA’s impressive public art collection.

Aaron Stephan’s “Paths Rising,” in the Main Terminal walkway to SkyConnect Station, is composed of over 600 ladders set inside a light well and positioned to imply a portal to what lies beyond.

(Courtesy TPA Airport)

Flush with pride: an airport lav is a finalist for America’s Best Restroom.

Contests, Uncategorized, , ,

Best places to go when you have to ‘go’

A clean public restroom can be a rare find when you’re in an airport, a restaurant, a theme park, a highway rest stop, a museum, or a mall.

It can be even more difficult to find a clean public restroom that also has some character, wit, and charm.

That’s why the Stuck at the Airport team of restroom reviewers always pays attention to the list of finalists in the annual America’s Best Restroom contest.

In 2022, Tampa International Airport (TPA) took the throne for a new set of Airside C restrooms featuring high-res images of quintessential Florida flora.

2023 List of Finalists for America’s Best Restroom

There’s also an airport on the list of the 10 finalists for the 2023 America’s Best Restroom Contest: Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI).

New restrooms at BWI feature an entrance with a seating area for travelers to wait for their companions. Inside, the restrooms have bright, spacious, fully enclosed stalls for privacy, touchless fixtures and individual lactation, adult changing, and family assist rooms.

Here is a list of the other 9 public restrooms in the running for the 2023 America’s Best Restroom Contest.

Be sure to vote for your favorite by August 11.

Clear Lake and Des Moines River Safety Rest Areas in Jackson, Minnesota

Drusie & Darr, Nashville, Tennessee – Restaurant

El Rio, San Francisco, California – Bar

Frying Pan, New York, New York – Lightship

Hell ‘n Blazes Brewing Company, Melbourne, Florida

Juban’s Creole Restaurant, Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Little America Hotel, Salt Lake City, Utah

Rabbit Hole, Greenville, South Carolina – Bar

Snowbasin Ski Resort, Huntsville, Utah

Another Airport Improves its Loos

Bathrooms, , , ,

Cool New Loos at BWI Marshall Airport (BWI)

In addition to quick-moving security lines, and tasty things to eat and drink, clean restrooms with short waiting lines top most travelers’ wish lists for airport amenities.

And airports are responding by flushing out old, tired restroom designs and bringing in bathrooms that are bright, high-tech, art-filled, and new.

The latest to do so is Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI).

Upgraded restrooms were included in a recent Concourse A expansion and there’s an ongoing $55 million program to expand and improve six sets of restrooms on Concourses B, C, and D.

The first set of improved restrooms on Concourse B is now open.

The new set of restrooms now open on Concourse B is nearly 4,700 total square feet, with full-height stalls, space for stowing roller bags, surface materials that are easy to clean and sanitize, and improved ventilation.

The new restrooms also feature innovative technology such as occupancy lights for the stalls and sensors to inform custodial staff when supplies need to be refilled.

Updated Airport Restrooms Win Hearts – and Awards

Airports that give their restrooms modern makeovers not only win kudos from passengers, but some of the new loos also win awards.

In 2022, both Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) and Tampa International Airport (TPA) made the list of finalists for America’s Best Restroom Contest. And Tampa International Airport took the throne.

“Green Art” at Tampa Int’l National Airport

Art, , ,

The plants in your home, your workplace, or the airport you’re passing through boost moods and brighten the surroundings.

Live greenery also helps clean indoor spaces by absorbing harmful toxins in the air.

Tampa International Airport (TPA) gets that and makes sure to have live plants in the terminals at all times.

Not just some plants here and there. But more than 3,500 live plants, including vines, ornamentals, palms, tropical foliage, and seasonal plants. And they’re all looked after by a crew of 3 people who grow many of the plants in an airport greenhouse and care for and maintain all the plants year-round.

During April, and in honor of Earth Day (April 22), Tampa International Airport’s interior landscaping team is showing off their green thumbs and their artistic abilities in the “Living and Breathing Art Exhibit” on Level 3 of TPA’s Main Terminal.

 “We just want people to notice plants more,” said Kristina Zakarkaite of the TPA Interior Landscaping team. “Plants are usually the backdrop for everything else, but when they’re front and center, people take notice.

The exhibit includes several framed “living paintings” made with air plants (see image up top), hardy plants creating mini-ecosystems on pieces of logs, ornamental plants grown using the Japanese art of Kokedama, which features a moss-covered ball of soil wrapped with string or fishing line, and more.

Look for the Tampa International Airport’s “Living and Breathing Art Exhibit” throughout April on Level 3 of the Main Terminal in the walkway between Airside A and C near the escalators to the SkyConnect station.

Love green airports? Tell us about the gardens and the greenery at your favorite airport.

(All photos courtesy Tampa International Airport)

Hurry to Help Name Tampa Int’l Airport’s Flamingo

Contests, ,

One of the best art addition to an airport this past year is a 21-foot-tall flamingo in the main terminal at Tampa International Airport (TPA).

While the artwork by Mathew Mazzotta is named Home, the flamingo itself arrived nameless. So a few weeks back, Tampa International Airport invited the public to come up with some suggestions.

And, wow, they did.

The panel of judges was faced with more than 65,000 entries. And, after an initial delay, has now settled on three finalists: Cora, Finn, and Phoebe.

Here’s the reasoning behind those suggestions:

  • Cora – Submitted by Glorianne P.: “Because the official name of the art piece is ‘Home’, we can expand on that and consider the phrase ‘Home is Where the Heart is.’ Cora is short for Corazon, which translates to heart in Spanish.“
  • Finn – Submitted by Braxton W.: “Finn the flamingo has the perfect ring to it. Every time I see a flamingo, it looks like they have fins on their feet that they forgot to take off. It always makes me laugh.”
  • Phoebe – Submitted by James M.: “A play on Phoenicopterus – the flamingo’s scientific name ‘Phoebe’ is also a playful alliterative to flamingo and means brilliantly inquisitive. The overall ‘Home’ sculpture is literally brilliant and reveals the flamingo’s inquisitiveness as it hunts for food in the shallows.”

Want to vote on the winner? You’d better hurry.

To vote for your favorite, go to NameTheFlamingo.com by 11:59 p.m. on Monday, January 2, 2023.

The winning name that receives the most votes will be revealed after January 2.

The flamingo’s prize will be a name. The person whose suggestion is chosen will be awarded a variety of prizes including roundtrip tickets for 4 on Silver Airways and a VIP Experience package for four to Busch Gardens.