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Letter to the editor

As revenue dips, Tampa airport makes cutbacks

Hiring is frozen at TIA while a variety of services are scaled down.

By STEVE HUETTEL, Times Staff Writer
Published March 7, 2008

Facing an unexpected decline in passengers, Tampa International Airport is tightening its belt. It plans to trim expenditures by nearly $4-million, or 4.3 percent, by freezing new hires, cutting back on employee travel, postponing equipment purchases and saving electricity.

TIA executive director Louis Miller blames the weak economy. When people fly less, the airport takes a hit. Revenue for the fiscal year are projected to fall short by $10.2-million, or about 5 percent. Almost half of that comes from parking, TIA's single largest money-maker. And the problem isn't just fewer travelers. More local passengers going away for a few days are saving a few bucks by taking a cab or enlisting family and friends to drop them off.

TIA's top cost cuts?

-Thermostats throughout the airport have been nudged up to 74 degrees from 72.

-Only one tram typically runs between the main terminal and airside buildings.

-Two of eight escalators that carry arriving passengers down to baggage claim are shut off.

[Last modified March 7, 2008, 06:27:41]