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Traffic at Tampa International Airport should get better soon

 
The short-term parking garage at Tampa International Airport is now fully open following construction on two floors.
The short-term parking garage at Tampa International Airport is now fully open following construction on two floors.
Published Feb. 5, 2016

Overnight parking is available again in the short-term parking garage at Tampa International Airport, and passengers can expect to see more normal traffic patterns by the end of the month.

Two floors of the short-term parking garage closed last month while construction workers waterproofed the garage entry and exit ramps. The work has been completed, and the entire garage is open to travelers. In addition, airport officials said travelers can expect to see some more normal traffic patterns as soon as Feb. 25 as some construction near George J. Bean Parkway is close to completion. There are roughly 800 to 1,000 construction workers at the airport every day.

Despite the ongoing construction, which is a part of a $953 million renovation of Tampa's airport terminals and facilities, customer satisfaction remains high among the travelers who have used the airport recently. Airport survey data show that less than 5 percent of passengers said construction has moderately or highly impacted their travel plans.

Last week, Condé Nast Traveler ranked Tampa International Airport the No. 1 airport with the shortest security wait times, which on average are 11.4 minutes. Fort Lauderdale International Airport placed second at 12.3 minutes. The times were collected through traveler surveys conducted by J.D. Power & Associates, a consumer firm that recently ranked Tampa International Airport No. 2 in customer satisfaction.

Overall, passenger traffic at Tampa International was up 7.5 percent during the months of October through December. Stores and restaurants in the airport terminals broke sales records around the holidays. The Columbia Restaurant in the airport recorded its highest sales ever Jan. 3. The three Starbucks locations in the airport earned more than $1 million in sales, a record, during the holiday travel season.

Winter Storm Jonas caused 312 delays and 246 cancellations in Tampa from Jan. 22 to 25.

Contact Justine Griffin at jgriffin@tampabay.com or (727) 893-8467. Follow @SunBizGriffin.