International traffic leads gains at TIA

TAMPA — Both traffic and revenue is up at Tampa International Airport in March and the first half of its fiscal year, with international traffic posting the largest gains, the airport says in a statement.

The airport posted a 5.2% increase in traffic in March compared with the same month last year, serving more than 1.79 million passengers. During that same period, international traffic rose 13.3%, and was up 43% in March compared with March 2011.

Revenue was also up in March, increasing by $1.2 million compared with March 2012.

For the first six months of TIA's fiscal year, which begins in October, traffic increased 2.3%, with international traffic rising 12.1% compared with the same period the prior year. Revenues increased by 4.8%, or $4.2 million, during the first six months compared to the same period of the prior fiscal year.

The news comes as JetBlue and Frontier have added new nonstop service from Tampa to the Northeast. The rise in international traffic also reflects TIA CEO Joe Lopano's focus on expanding the airport's international service and building more traffic from these visitors, whom he says can have a big economic impact on Tampa Bay.