{"schema_version":1,"citation_url":"https://www.loungefrog.com/news/tampa-airport-airside-a-airline-club-design-contract-november-2026","title":"Tampa approves design work for a new airline club in Airside A, with no airline named yet","description":"Tampa's airport board approved a design contract on November 5 that includes a new airline club in Airside A. There is no operator, size or opening date so far.","author":"Lounge Frog Staff","publisher":"Lounge Frog","date_published":"2026-11-13T16:55:42.035463Z","date_modified":"2026-11-13T16:55:42.035463Z","body_markdown":"Tampa International Airport has taken the first formal step toward a new airline lounge. On November 5, the airport's board approved a design contract that includes a new airline club in Airside A, [Deep Arrival reported](https://deeparrival.com/news/tampa-international-airport-airside-a-lounge-design-november-2026/), citing the board's agenda and contract documents.\n\nThe airline behind the club has not been named. No size, opening date or construction date has been published.\n\n## What the board approved\n\nThe Hillsborough County Aviation Authority, which runs the airport, passed Resolution 2026-142. It authorizes a contract with Manhattan Construction for design work.\n\nThe contract covers two linked projects:\n\n- redeveloped shops and restaurants in the Main Terminal and Airsides A, C, E and F\n- a new airline club in Airside A\n\nThe agenda sets a ceiling of $13,065,475 for the combined design contract. That figure is not the cost of the lounge. It covers design for the whole package, and construction would need separate approval. The documents are in the airport's [board meeting archive](https://www.tampaairport.com/business/board-meeting-archives).\n\n## Which airline is it?\n\nThe airport has not said. The project is being discussed with \"a major airline,\" according to a Tampa Bay Business Journal report summarized by Deep Arrival.\n\nAirside A is home to several carriers, so the location does not settle it. We are not going to guess. An airline's own announcement, or a lease on a future board agenda, would answer the question.\n\n## A change of plan in Airside C\n\nThe same Business Journal report says Tampa is moving away from a common-use lounge it had planned for Airside C.\n\nA common-use lounge is one that any traveler can enter with a day pass or a lounge membership, whatever airline they fly. If that plan is dropped, Tampa's lounges would stay tied to specific airlines.\n\n## Tampa's lounges today\n\nTampa has two airline lounges, according to the airport's own traveler guide.\n\n| Lounge | Location |\n| --- | --- |\n| American Airlines Admirals Club | Airside F |\n| Delta Sky Club | Airside E |\n\nBoth are for travelers who qualify under each airline's rules.\n\n## Why the airside matters at Tampa\n\nTampa's layout makes lounge location more important than at most airports. The four airsides are separate buildings. Each has its own security checkpoint and its own shuttle from the Main Terminal.\n\nYou cannot walk between them after security. To get from one airside to another, you ride back to the Main Terminal and clear security again.\n\nSo a lounge in Airside A is only practical if your flight leaves from Airside A. A traveler flying from Airside C or E would have to pass through security twice to use it.\n\n## What this means for travelers\n\nNothing changes yet. A design contract is an early step, and lounges usually take years to get from design to opening.\n\nIf you fly from Airside A today, there is no lounge there. Your options are the restaurants and seating in the airside itself.\n\n## What to watch\n\n- **An airline announcement.** This would confirm the operator and, most likely, the access rules.\n- **A construction contract.** The board would need to approve it, and it would give a clearer timeline.\n- **Airside C.** Whether the airport confirms that the common-use lounge is off the table.\n\nWe will update this story when the airport or an airline confirms who will run the Airside A club.","link_base":"https://www.loungefrog.com/news/tampa-airport-airside-a-airline-club-design-contract-november-2026","citation_guidance":"Cite citation_url. Preserve source links, dates and qualifications. date_modified is an edit date, not proof that every claim was rechecked. Third-party images and quoted material retain their own rights."}