[5] Tampa Bay is the birthplace of commercial airline service, when pioneer aviator Tony Jannus flew the inaugural flight of the St. Petersburg-Tampa Airboat Line on January 1, 1914, from St. Petersburg, to Tampa using a Benoist Flying Boat—the first scheduled commercial airline flight in the world using a heavier-than-air airplane.

The more popular Peter O. Knight Airport was opened on Davis Islands near Downtown Tampa in 1935, where both Eastern and National Airlines operated until 1946.

The United States Army Air Corps began negotiating for the use of Drew Field in 1939 during the buildup of military forces prior to World War II.

The Third Air Force used it as a training center by 120,000 combat air crews, primarily in bomber aircraft for the European and Pacific theaters, and also flew locally based antisubmarine patrols from the airfield until that mission was fully taken over by Naval Aviation assets of the U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard.

[7] Despite this, Drew Field set a safety record for the Third Air Force in 1945 after 100,000 flying hours had been completed over a period of 10 months without a fatal incident.

[8] After World War II, the Army Air Forces vacated the facility and Drew Field was returned to the City of Tampa.

National DC-8 nonstops to Los Angeles and weekly Pan American jets to Mexico City (MIA-TPA-MID-MEX) started in 1961.

During the early 1960s, the aviation authority began planning a replacement terminal in an undeveloped site at the airport.

Construction on the new terminal designed by Reynolds, Smith & Hills began in 1968 between the airport's parallel jet-capable runways.

In its early years, the 1971 terminal would also see large amounts of tourists heading to Walt Disney World, which also opened in 1971.

[15] Shawnee Airlines offered connecting flights from Tampa to the now-defunct Walt Disney World Airport in the 1970s.

The Host/Marriott Airport Hotel and its revolving rooftop restaurant opened in December 1973, with triple-paned windows and sound-proof guest rooms.

[22] Phase II of the economy garage opened ahead of schedule in November 2005, bringing a total of 5,600 parking spaces.

In 2008 Condé Nast Traveler recognized TPA as the second-best airport in the world, just two tenths of a point behind the first-place winner.

JD Power and Associates have also given TPA Airport consistently high customer-satisfaction ratings over the years.

In November 2011, CNN ranked TPA sixth among ten of the world's most loved airports, being the only one on the list from the US.

Criteria for the rankings were based on access, check-in, restaurants,shopping, and design, and rated from excellent to poor.

[29] In August 2022, a 21-foot flamingo sculpture named HOME nicknamed "Phoebe", was installed and opened in Tampa International Airport's main terminal.

In February 2024, Joe Lopano, the CEO credited with leading Tampa's improvement as a hub, announced plans to retire.

[38] Tampa International Airport covers an area of 3,300 acres (13 km2) at an elevation of 26 feet (7.9 m) above mean sea level.

Today it houses the original facilities with the addition of offices, rental car counters, badging and a receptionist desk.

The new combined service and maintenance facility is located near the southern edge of airport property and is connected to the terminal via a new train called SkyConnect.

The bus hub is accessible via a bank of elevators that connect directly to the Rental Car Center and is steps away from the SkyConnect station.