Joe Lopano, who has served as Tampa International Airport CEO since 2011, is retiring in April.
He oversaw lots of major changes, including more express pickup lanes, the SkyConnect train system, more international flights, and a new airside set to open in 2028.
In a conversation with Lopano, he discussed how he studied one of the airport's earliest leaders — George Bean — before taking over in 2011.
"I told my guys when we started the Master Plan process. I said, 'Look, we gotta do better than George Bean. We're standing on the shoulders of great men who had courage and vision," Lopano said. "Don't let that down. I want you to do better.' And I held that standard to my team."
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How do you think it worked?
"I think it's working well. I'm sure your listeners, hopefully, will agree that what we've done so far and what we will do with Airside D — which is the crowning jewel — will be something that George Bean would be very proud of."
Speaking of Airside D, obviously that's a big deal that's going to be coming, as of right now, slated for 2028. It's primarily going to host international flights. How do you think that's going to improve the airport? How can that kind of change the landscape?
"Currently here and in many other places, when you get off the airplane, you go into a dark hallway, and then you go into a dank-smelling basement, and you clear customs. This facility is going to have plenty of sunlight. You're going to walk along the outside edge of the building, looking out at the plane you just came in on, and then go down into a really bright and clear customs clearance area. So it's going to be a game changer. It's a building that's consequential."
Versus 2011 to now, seeing those international connections. I mean, what would you say that jump has been like?
"It's been transformative, really, for the region. Because when I first came here, they said, 'We can't get international flights. They all go to Orlando.' And I said, 'Oh, no, you're wrong. We can do this.' And they said, 'Well, you know, Tampa is only five or 600,000 people.' I said, 'Yeah, I realize that.' But I said, 'The airport's not Tampa's airport. It's the airport for the west coast of Florida. It's the region's airport.' And when you take that population base together, it's like 4 million or more. Suddenly, we're a viable candidate for international flights. And when we positioned it that way, when we sold it to the airlines that way, and told them that you can reach Sarasota in an hour, or you can reach Orlando on a good day in an hour, it became relevant."
How's it feel to be the guy that thought of that?
"Pretty, pretty cool. I like it ... it it took us from the town of, 'No, we can't,' to the town of 'Watch this.' Now, a couple other things happened in the meantime, like Super Bowls and Stanley Cups and other things that made us believe in ourselves. But now we're a community that's very, very confident, believes in themselves, and it's completely different than it was when I first got here."
Obviously, with success comes way more customers. What do you think that Tampa's airport can do to make sure it doesn't get too crowded, or it doesn't get too difficult to navigate through once it becomes even more massive?
"The question becomes, how big do you want to get? How big can you get and still maintain your level of service? So I think that's an unanswered question. That's something for the next person to wrestle with. I mean, if you have eight flights a day to Chicago, do you need 13? I'm not sure. So really, what's the point of expanding just for the sake of expansion? It has to be more thoughtful, more strategic expansion.
Is there anything else that you think TPA needs to do to take another step toward being one of, if not the best airport in the country?
"It's really, really very simple, but complicated. We need to solve our transportation problem. We can fly people here at 500 miles an hour, and then when they get here, they're stuck in gridlock. And people will do that once, but they won't do that again. So we really, really have to solve the transportation issue, not just for small communities that are within Hillsborough County, but for this airport, and for this whole region. This is not a local issue. This is a regional issue."
Are you going to miss seeing Phoebe the flamingo as often?
"Well, I'm going to come back and see Phoebe and take pictures with Phoebe. Phoebe is a great example of creativity and innovation that we used, and it was embraced so much by the community. Not just our community, but people around the world are aware of Phoebe."
You think you'll still be keeping a relationship with Phoebe? You'll still be around?
"I'll be in a relationship with this region for a long, long time."
