Tampa approves design work for a new airline club in Airside A, with no airline named yet

Tampa International Airport has taken the first formal step toward a new airline lounge. On November 5, the airport's board approved a design contract that includes a new airline club in Airside A, Deep Arrival reported, citing the board's agenda and contract documents.

The airline behind the club has not been named. No size, opening date or construction date has been published.

What the board approved#

The Hillsborough County Aviation Authority, which runs the airport, passed Resolution 2026-142. It authorizes a contract with Manhattan Construction for design work.

The contract covers two linked projects:

• redeveloped shops and restaurants in the Main Terminal and Airsides A, C, E and F
• a new airline club in Airside A

The agenda sets a ceiling of $13,065,475 for the combined design contract. That figure is not the cost of the lounge. It covers design for the whole package, and construction would need separate approval. The documents are in the airport's board meeting archive.

Which airline is it?#

The airport has not said. The project is being discussed with "a major airline," according to a Tampa Bay Business Journal report summarized by Deep Arrival.

Airside A is home to several carriers, so the location does not settle it. We are not going to guess. An airline's own announcement, or a lease on a future board agenda, would answer the question.

A change of plan in Airside C#

The same Business Journal report says Tampa is moving away from a common-use lounge it had planned for Airside C.

A common-use lounge is one that any traveler can enter with a day pass or a lounge membership, whatever airline they fly. If that plan is dropped, Tampa's lounges would stay tied to specific airlines.

Tampa's lounges today#

Tampa has two airline lounges, according to the airport's own traveler guide.

Lounge	Location
American Airlines Admirals Club	Airside F
Delta Sky Club	Airside E

Both are for travelers who qualify under each airline's rules.

Why the airside matters at Tampa#

Tampa's layout makes lounge location more important than at most airports. The four airsides are separate buildings. Each has its own security checkpoint and its own shuttle from the Main Terminal.

You cannot walk between them after security. To get from one airside to another, you ride back to the Main Terminal and clear security again.

So a lounge in Airside A is only practical if your flight leaves from Airside A. A traveler flying from Airside C or E would have to pass through security twice to use it.

What this means for travelers#

Nothing changes yet. A design contract is an early step, and lounges usually take years to get from design to opening.

If you fly from Airside A today, there is no lounge there. Your options are the restaurants and seating in the airside itself.

What to watch#

• An airline announcement. This would confirm the operator and, most likely, the access rules.
• A construction contract. The board would need to approve it, and it would give a clearer timeline.
• Airside C. Whether the airport confirms that the common-use lounge is off the table.

We will update this story when the airport or an airline confirms who will run the Airside A club.

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