Delta Air Lines set to fly via TIA to Amsterdam from May'19

Aug 24, 2018: Delta Air Lines will begin nonstop flights via Tampa International Airport (TIA) to Amsterdam from May 2019, giving TIA its fifth destination in Europe.

TIA CEO Joe Lopano said, "To have a wide-body from Delta Air Lines flying across the Atlantic Ocean is a great service that is envied and wanted by lots of communities around the country."

TIA has seven international carriers and flies to more than a dozen cities around the world. By securing new flights in to Zurich, Frankfurt, Reykjavík, Iceland and Panama City, Panama, Tampa International has seen its international passenger count grow 126 percent since 2011.

The Amsterdam service is expected to fly every day during peak periods such as the summer and four to five times a week during non-peak periods with extended-range Boeing 767 jets.

Officials estimate the flights will have a local economic impact of $110 million a year, supporting an estimated 1,000 jobs associated with tourism and business travel throughout the Tampa Bay area.

Amsterdam Schiphol Airport is among the busiest is Europe and is one of Delta’s largest European hubs, with connections to destinations as far away as India and Asia via Delta partners KLM, Air France, Alitalia and Jet Airways.

To land the Amsterdam flight, the airport will provide an estimated $1.2 million in incentives to Delta. That includes $847,880 in waived landing fees, gate fees and operating fees for two years and $356,154 in reimbursable marketing funds for Delta to promote the route.

Meanwhile, the airport is growing. It saw a record 19.6 million passengers in 2017, its best year since the Great Recession. It is on a pace to surpass 21 million passengers this year and is preparing for 24 million passengers within five years by pursuing an ambitious $2.3 billion master plan to expand passenger facilities, amenities and business development on airport property.

In February, it opened a new car rental center served by a new 1.5-mile SkyConnect train to the main terminal. It also has renovated the main terminal and added 69 new shops, restaurants and services.

By 2023, airport officials aim to add an 8-storey office building, two hotels and a gas station, with more airside gates envisioned in the future.