Departure
97%
vs 95% ▲ 1
MY FS FLIGHTS
MY FS FLIGHTS
Tampa International Airport (KTPA) is a major international gateway on Florida's west coast, six miles west of downtown Tampa, operated by the Hillsborough County Aviation Authority. For the simulator pilot it offers a genuine Class B environment with parallel long runways, full ILS coverage and busy commercial and general aviation traffic, making it an excellent, realistic destination for airline and corporate flying.
Tampa International Airport sits a short distance west of downtown Tampa, Florida, and is the principal commercial airport serving the Tampa Bay area. It is owned and managed by the Hillsborough County Aviation Authority, which also oversees several satellite general aviation fields in the region. For a simulator pilot, TPA is attractive as a large, busy Class B airport with a mix of widebody and narrowbody airline traffic, a triple-runway layout and full instrument approach capability, offering a realistic taste of major US airline operations.
Tampa International Airport lies within controlled Class B airspace, reflecting its status as a major hub for commercial air traffic. It is located approximately six miles west of Downtown Tampa in Hillsborough County, Florida, and shares the wider Tampa Bay airspace environment with other Hillsborough County Aviation Authority fields including Peter O. Knight Airport, Tampa Executive Airport and Plant City Airport.
Tampa International has three physical runways. Runway 01L/19R is the longest, at 11,014 feet, with a hard lit surface and ILS approaches available at both ends. Runway 01R/19L is 8,302 feet long, also hard-surfaced, lit and equipped with ILS on both directions. Runway 10/28 is 6,990 feet long, hard-surfaced and lit, though without ILS.
Pilots should expect the following frequencies at Tampa International: Air/Departure (A/D) on 118.15 MHz, Approach/Departure on the same frequency band, ATIS on 126.45 MHz, Clearance Delivery, Ground on 121.7 MHz, Tower on 119.5 MHz, and a Clearance/CLD frequency on 133.6 MHz. UNICOM is available on 122.95 MHz. The airport is fully equipped with ILS approaches to both parallel runway pairs, 01L/19R and 01R/19L.
Tampa International Airport originated as Drew Field, which served as the base for airline operations after Eastern Air Lines and National Airlines relocated there from Peter O. Knight Airport on Davis Island, the latter having become too small to accommodate the larger Douglas DC-4, DC-6 and Lockheed Constellation airliners entering service in the mid-1940s. During this period the airlines operated from the former Drew Army Air Field base operations building. Trans Canada Airlines began international flights from the field in 1950, the same year Drew Field was renamed Tampa International Airport.
Tampa International Airport remains the premier commercial gateway to Florida's west coast, operated by the Hillsborough County Aviation Authority alongside its satellite fields at Peter O. Knight, Tampa Executive and Plant City Airports. It continues to handle substantial airline traffic across its three runways, supported by full ILS approach capability on the two longer parallel runways.