Some recent news on Tampa International Airport was easy to overlook. What with all the Aviation Authority board dynamics, TSA subplots, passenger-count attention, air-service recruitment, more liberal advertising policies and the impressive debut of the new executive director, Joseph Lopano.
But this also happened: For the second consecutive year, a prominent travel guide survey ranked TIA second in the country. Right behind Portland (Ore.) International in the Top 30 list. The 2010 Zagat Airline and Airport Survey’s bottom five: New York’s JFK, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Miami and New York’s LaGuardia.
It’s a reminder of what we easily take for granted. TIA remains one of the pre-eminent airports anywhere. The word “world class” is overused, but never in the context of TIA. It’s a reminder that TIA was built–location and amenity-wise–with passengers, not planes, as the top priority.