Tampa International Airport gears up for busy spring break season: ‘Our Super Bowl’

TPA predicts busy spring break travel season

FOX 13's Ariel Plasencia reports that Tampa International Airport is preparing for an "all-time busy spring break" period, which begins Saturday.

TAMPA, Fla. - Tampa International Airport is preparing for an "all-time busiest spring break" period, which begins Saturday.

"This is affectionately known for us as our Super Bowl every year. Thanksgiving's busy, Christmas is busy. But Super Bowl – or the Spring Break period – is the time when people come down to Florida, and we see our peak numbers," TPA Vice President of Operations Ben Robins said.

By the numbers:

TPA is expecting to see an average 90,000 daily passengers from March 1 to April 6, but officials acknowledge that number could end up even higher.

"We are going to see at least four days where we're going to exceed 100,000 passengers, we think," TPA spokesperson Emily Nipps said. "And, we've never seen that before."

Saturday, March 15, is expected to be the busiest travel day when 101,502 passengers are projected to travel through TPA. Other busy days with the highest expected traveler numbers include March 16, 22, and 29.

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Since the next five weeks will include more than just spring break travel, the airport said it’s prepared to handle 600-650 daily flights, which is above its normal daily average of 500.

What they're saying:

Unfortunately, there have been several recent airline incidents reported across the country. During Thursday’s press conference, TPA officials reassured travelers.

"As the aviation authority, we're in charge of the facility. So safety is number one for us. Safety and security. We have drills, contingencies. We have a fantastic police, crash, fire-rescue," Robins said. "So, we are prepared for anything."

Dig deeper:

The airport also wants passengers to keep several construction projects in mind, which includes the ongoing work to replace the shuttles at Airsides A and C. As a result, only one shuttle could be running at one time, which might increase the time it takes to get to your gate.

READ: New baggage screening machines unveiled at Tampa International

Additionally, the airport announced it’s expecting to open the new Airside E checkpoints soon.

"That's very, very exciting. Brand new state-of-the-art machines to enhance the experience here," Robins said. "So that will happen just at the beginning of the spring break period."

New security screening machines will allow regular passengers to keep their electronics and liquids in their bags. While the new hi-tech imaging does take a few seconds longer than the old system, there are seven screening lanes to keep the lines moving. Spring breakers will be some of the first travelers to test it out.

"We're known for our quick check points in our lines and getting through very easily," Robins said. "But spring break is a little different, and you can expect longer lines."

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