October 13, 2025 • 14 mins
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Time now for our CEO spotlight here on The Ryan
Gorman Show and joining me in studio, I have Michael Stevens,
CEO of Tampa International Airport. He's the fourth CEO in
the airport's history. He is also a US Air Force
and Army veteran. You can learn more, of course, about
all things TPA at Tampa Airport dot com. Michael, really
(00:20):
appreciate you taking a few minutes to come in and
join us, and you know there's a lot to be
excited about when it comes to Tampa International. But before
we get to all of that, I have to ask
you about the government shutdown and the impact it's having
on air travel.
Speaker 2 (00:33):
So let me start there.
Speaker 1 (00:35):
How is it affecting day to day operations and how
are you navigating those challenges?
Speaker 2 (00:39):
Ran Thank you man.
Speaker 3 (00:40):
I'm excited to be here this morning with you, and
we are doing very very.
Speaker 2 (00:45):
Well as it relates to the government shutdown.
Speaker 3 (00:47):
At TPA, we have about eleven hundred federal employees on
our property. The TSA folks at everyone encounters when they're
coming through and going out to the airside CBP when
you're coming back in the country. We also have a
bunch of air traffic controllers in our tower and our
radar facility that's there on campus. But having said that,
(01:08):
Tampa is a great place to be for the air
traffic controllers.
Speaker 2 (01:13):
It's a prime spot.
Speaker 3 (01:14):
So we're not having any staffing issues there. We're not
seeing anything at the CBP customs facility, nor are we
seeing any staffing issues at TSA. Notwithstanding what we are
doing at Tampa Internationals. We're being proactive. So we have
about seven hundred airport employees. About ten thousand people work
on our campus in total, so it's a big ecosystem
(01:34):
in partnership.
Speaker 2 (01:35):
The federal partners there are critical to what.
Speaker 3 (01:37):
We do, as you can imagine, So we have reached
out to utility companies like TCO, being proactive, saying, hey,
in case this goes on for a protracted time, let's
do whatever we can to get these folks some support
and relief on their utilities. Same thing with a lot
of our community service organizations, whether it's childcare, whether it's
(02:00):
food support, a number of different things. Reaching out to
mortgage companies and rental companies as well to give these
folks some relief. So the human side, the human side,
and the last but not least showing these folks that
we support them.
Speaker 2 (02:14):
They're part of our TPA family.
Speaker 3 (02:15):
So we do things like just deliver, you know, hundreds
of pizzas, just to let these guys know that we
got your back and we're here with you in whatever
way we can be there real quick.
Speaker 1 (02:25):
The broader air traffic controller shortage that we've seen across
the country, how much are you seeing that here at
Tampa International Airport? If at all, We're not seeing it
at Tampa International.
Speaker 3 (02:39):
As I said, it's one of those prime spots everyone
wants to, you know, get a shot to come down
to Florida and particularly Tampa if you're an air traffic controller.
I used to be an air traffic controller, and what
I can tell you is that you know, it is
a stressful job at times. So while we're not in
experiencing impacts with our controller population at Tampa or staffing
(03:03):
issues at Tampa, the ones that you're starting to see
pop up in the Northeastern corridor in Denver or out west,
it's all interrelated because, unlike you know, a bus system
that's just local to the geographic area that it operates,
our airport is international airport. So if things are slowing
up in the Northeast because of controller shortages, then that
(03:24):
may result in delays here at Tampa in the form
of groundstop. It's almost like you gotta turn the spiggot
down a little bit in order to manage the traffic.
Speaker 1 (03:33):
We're joined by Michael Stevens, CEO of Tampa International Airport.
You know, TPA always ranked as one of the top
airports in the country. What is it that sets your
airport apart from others?
Speaker 2 (03:44):
You know, I think it's a couple of things.
Speaker 3 (03:46):
I think we've designed efficiency into our DNA from the
very inception. It's one of the few airports that has
distributed airsides right the hub and spoke models, so you're
not bottlenecking at one or two throughputs to get to security.
That's one of the first things in terms of the
design that's baked in. Another thing, we always from the
(04:09):
beginning of Tampa International Airport's history, thought about the passenger experience.
We don't want passengers to have to walk anymore than
seven hundred steps steps before you get to your next
piece of what we call movement or conveyance equipment. That
can be an elevator, that can be an escalator or
a moving sidewalk, or just the distance from the shuttles
(04:31):
to the gates.
Speaker 2 (04:31):
So those are some of the built in things.
Speaker 3 (04:33):
In fact, Tampa International had the first automated shuttle system
in the entire world, not Disney, not some of the
places in Europe, at Tampa International, right, So a part
of it's baked in the design. But here's the real secret,
sauce Ran, if I'm being honest with you, it's our people.
It's our people. You're up in Chicago. I moved down
from the northeast. And if you come into Tampa International
(04:55):
Airport and if you even look like you're looking around
or you need some help, you don't have to wait,
you don't have to go and track anybody down. Nine
times out of ten, there's going to be a member
of our team that will come up to you and say, hey, Sara,
are you lost?
Speaker 2 (05:09):
You need some directions, you need some help.
Speaker 3 (05:12):
That's what makes us different, and you feel it when
you come into Tampa International day in and dawn.
Speaker 1 (05:18):
The region continues to grow, and so has Tampa International
airsided first new airside in almost twenty years, obviously aimed
at helping address that issue. How is that project coming along.
Speaker 3 (05:30):
That project is coming along spectacularly well. I think Tampa
and the Tampa Bay region are going to be incredibly
proud of this facility.
Speaker 2 (05:39):
It's going to be about.
Speaker 3 (05:40):
Six hundred thousand square foot facility and give you an
order of magnitude for those folks who have flown out
of AIRSIDEC where Southwest Airlines primarily operates out of. It's
going to be twice the size of Airside.
Speaker 2 (05:53):
See.
Speaker 3 (05:53):
It's going to have state of the art technology in it.
The way that we're going to arrange our food and
beverages and concessions, it's just going to be intuitive. It's
going to have two world class lounges. One is going
to be a Delta lounge and another one is going
to be a common use lounge, sixteen gates, and a
customs facility. It is going to be a beautiful but
(06:17):
efficient facility that is going to support our growth in
the region in the decades to come.
Speaker 1 (06:23):
We're joined by Michael Stevens, CEO of Tampa International Airport.
Of course, you can learn more at Tampa Airport dot com.
One thing you've been very open about, and this ties
into what we were just talking about the growth of
the region, the transit issues across the Tampa Bay area,
especially right around the airport. I always say, you know,
we have so many people from across the country and
(06:45):
around the world. They fly into our first class, modern
airport only to venture out and see infrastructure that hasn't
kept up. Tell us about that and how it ties
into the airport itself.
Speaker 3 (06:59):
So, yeah, I think Tampa International and the growth of
the Tampa Bay Region there are you know, intrinsically and
inextricably related, meaning that if the region grows, Tampa International growth,
If Tampa International growth, the region grows attracting businesses, tourists,
all those types of things. A part of what you're
(07:19):
seeing now this area is so booming, the Tampa Bay region.
We're expecting another ten million passengers to come through TBA
in the next ten to eleven years. Right, So if
we did twenty six million passengers roughly this year, so
in the next ten years, you're talking about thirty six
thirty seven million passengers. So we have to and you know,
(07:40):
manage that volume. We're doing that on the airport campus
with things like AIRSID, with the new red Express curbs,
with extending you know, and redoing the terminal facility, all
those things that you've been seeing over the years. But
there's only so much we can do on the campus.
We have to address the traffic issue within the main
(08:01):
core of Tampa Bay, right. We have to be able
to move people in a more efficient way. So that's
why I'm leaning into the transportation and the connectivity you know, discussion,
because if people come into Tampa International and have an
amazing experience, but you can't get downtown in under thirty minutes.
(08:22):
I went to the opening lightning, you know, game or
reception downtown last night. It took me thirty five almost yeah,
almost forty minutes to get from the airport to downtown.
Speaker 2 (08:32):
We got to do better than that if we're going
to stay competitive.
Speaker 1 (08:34):
What are some of the ideas that you have in
order to accomplish that goal, because I know, you know,
you've looked at the region beyond the airport itself, the
campus itself, at some potential solutions.
Speaker 3 (08:46):
Yeah, you know, I before coming to the airport, I
work for the transfit Authority, I work for HEART, so
I'm very familiar with mobility planning, and I think what
we have to do is we have to start somewhere, Ryan,
I need that We've had these big, massive ideas, all
good ideas, but sometimes you got to start somewhere. In
my mind, I think where we can start is leveraging
(09:10):
what we have now that we didn't even have eight
years ago. We have a vibrant district in water Street
where people can live, work and play. Gas Works is
coming online. Now, you have all the growth and development
in the downtown core Midtown. My vision is simply this
from water Street to the airport, for example, if we
(09:30):
talk about a place to start, that's about seven miles,
seven miles. If we could connect an automated people mover
from say downtown right through the core areas, so from
water Street maybe down to Midtown over here to West Shore,
and then what I would like to see and what
(09:50):
I've been talking about, is developing an urban air mobility center.
Speaker 2 (09:56):
And what does that mean.
Speaker 3 (09:57):
That means a place where that train or people mover
very similar to sky connect at the airport, which is
not rail, it's a rubber wheel train can connect to
that mobility center.
Speaker 2 (10:07):
Right. You can also have ride share there.
Speaker 3 (10:10):
You can have a number of different things, including some
future technology that we're planning for at the airport, which
is ev tall, electric, vertical and takeoff landing aircraft.
Speaker 2 (10:19):
So it's going to take a mix of that.
Speaker 3 (10:21):
And then from that point you can connect from that
urban mobility center right over to the airport. So imagine
if you're downtown and just like you can check your
bags at the rental car center now and they're on
your plane by the time you get to your gate,
you can do that from a facility potentially downtown, So
you can check in potentially downtown, take a people mover
all the way down to the airport, your bags are
at your gate, and you can get some time back.
(10:44):
The final piece that I would say as a start,
as a start, the same thing can happen from that.
The Urban Mobility Center right across the Howard Franklin Bridge
f DOT has already made the capital investment to put
a transit envelope there. So imagine that same people mover
come in from West Shore over here roughly to Caroline
feather Sound, and then you can connect from there. There's
(11:05):
so many opportunities to activate things like greater connectivity with
PI et cetera.
Speaker 1 (11:10):
And this has to be you know, I grew up
in the Tampa Bay area. And I went to school
at the University of South Florida, so I've been talking
about this, hearing about this for decades now. The transit
issues here. This has to be something that people you
taught to in the community, business leaders are focused on
because it's an impediment.
Speaker 2 (11:29):
It is it is.
Speaker 3 (11:30):
I think, you know, if you take a look back
even eight nine years ago, again, a lot of the
things that we have didn't exist then. We didn't have
a water street, we didn't have a gas works being developed,
we didn't have the Riverwalk being completed, we didn't have
a midtown.
Speaker 1 (11:46):
Downtown used to be right. There was a lot of
potential there and it was just right. Wasn't developed right
now it is, that's.
Speaker 3 (11:53):
Right, So we have to, you know, rise to the occasion.
And I say that Tampa Bay, this region is a
region of innovation. The first commercial flights in the entire
world took place right here in Tampa Bay from Saint
Pete over to Tampa.
Speaker 2 (12:07):
So we are worthy of that.
Speaker 3 (12:09):
And if you think about the past in Tampa, it
was a vast streetcar network around the entire city where
people can move around. So we can, we can, we can,
we can do this, I have no doubt.
Speaker 1 (12:20):
Final question for you, what are some of your priorities
now that you're the CEO of Tampa International Airport. I
mean we've talked about obviously some of them, but are
there some other things that you came into the job thinking, Uh,
these are issues that I want to address. These are
you know, towards the top of my list.
Speaker 3 (12:40):
Well, other than that regional connectivity and mobility. I think
continuing to deliver a world class product in terms of
of of what Tampa International does best, and that is
get people in and out efficiently. I want to continue
to extend our our NonStop roots internationally. We've been having
(13:01):
really great success Latin America. Amsterdam is back, we just
announced that Bogota, now too long ago, is going to
be going daily Mexico City, so I think we need
to continue to build on that. We have a vibrant
business and travel and leisure community here, so I want
to be able to deliver on that. I want to
continue to look at how we can innovate in the airport,
things like biometrics, things like light art that makes us
(13:24):
more efficient and more effective in managing a very very
complex business.
Speaker 1 (13:29):
And you've seen one more questions to follow up because
you mentioned business travel a second ago. We've certainly seen
a leisure travel bounce back after the pandemic. There were
some questions I think as to how much business travel
would bounce back, especially with some of the technology that
was developed, Zoom and things like that. What have you
seen at the airport.
Speaker 3 (13:48):
We've seen that there is a good appetite still out
there for business travel, notwithstanding the things we had to
do out of COVID with Zoom and teams, you cannot
replace the value of face to face relationship building, just
like you and I are doing.
Speaker 2 (14:02):
We could have done this remotely, right, yeah, But being able.
Speaker 3 (14:04):
To sit in in the presence of someone else and
really talk about the things that matter, that's important. So
I think business travelers are understanding that, and you've been
seeing that kind of movement throughout the country. Folks are
going back to the office, all those types of things.
So we're bullish on the business travel market all right.
Speaker 1 (14:24):
Michael Stevens, CEO of Tampa International Airport. You can learn
more at Tampa Airport dot com and I recommend following
TPA on social media too. Definitely got a fantastic team
doing that work. Michael, thank you so much for taking
a few minutes to come in. Really appreciate it.
Speaker 2 (14:40):
Thank you Ryan. It's my pleasure.
Time now for our CEO spotlight here on The Ryan
Gorman Show and joining me in studio, I have Michael Stevens,
CEO of Tampa International Airport. He's the fourth CEO in
the airport's history. He is also a US Air Force
and Army veteran. You can learn more, of course, about
all things TPA at Tampa Airport dot com. Michael, really
(00:20):
appreciate you taking a few minutes to come in and
join us, and you know there's a lot to be
excited about when it comes to Tampa International. But before
we get to all of that, I have to ask
you about the government shutdown and the impact it's having
on air travel.
Speaker 2 (00:33):
So let me start there.
Speaker 1 (00:35):
How is it affecting day to day operations and how
are you navigating those challenges?
Speaker 2 (00:39):
Ran Thank you man.
Speaker 3 (00:40):
I'm excited to be here this morning with you, and
we are doing very very.
Speaker 2 (00:45):
Well as it relates to the government shutdown.
Speaker 3 (00:47):
At TPA, we have about eleven hundred federal employees on
our property. The TSA folks at everyone encounters when they're
coming through and going out to the airside CBP when
you're coming back in the country. We also have a
bunch of air traffic controllers in our tower and our
radar facility that's there on campus. But having said that,
(01:08):
Tampa is a great place to be for the air
traffic controllers.
Speaker 2 (01:13):
It's a prime spot.
Speaker 3 (01:14):
So we're not having any staffing issues there. We're not
seeing anything at the CBP customs facility, nor are we
seeing any staffing issues at TSA. Notwithstanding what we are
doing at Tampa Internationals. We're being proactive. So we have
about seven hundred airport employees. About ten thousand people work
on our campus in total, so it's a big ecosystem
(01:34):
in partnership.
Speaker 2 (01:35):
The federal partners there are critical to what.
Speaker 3 (01:37):
We do, as you can imagine, So we have reached
out to utility companies like TCO, being proactive, saying, hey,
in case this goes on for a protracted time, let's
do whatever we can to get these folks some support
and relief on their utilities. Same thing with a lot
of our community service organizations, whether it's childcare, whether it's
(02:00):
food support, a number of different things. Reaching out to
mortgage companies and rental companies as well to give these
folks some relief. So the human side, the human side,
and the last but not least showing these folks that
we support them.
Speaker 2 (02:14):
They're part of our TPA family.
Speaker 3 (02:15):
So we do things like just deliver, you know, hundreds
of pizzas, just to let these guys know that we
got your back and we're here with you in whatever
way we can be there real quick.
Speaker 1 (02:25):
The broader air traffic controller shortage that we've seen across
the country, how much are you seeing that here at
Tampa International Airport? If at all, We're not seeing it
at Tampa International.
Speaker 3 (02:39):
As I said, it's one of those prime spots everyone
wants to, you know, get a shot to come down
to Florida and particularly Tampa if you're an air traffic controller.
I used to be an air traffic controller, and what
I can tell you is that you know, it is
a stressful job at times. So while we're not in
experiencing impacts with our controller population at Tampa or staffing
(03:03):
issues at Tampa, the ones that you're starting to see
pop up in the Northeastern corridor in Denver or out west,
it's all interrelated because, unlike you know, a bus system
that's just local to the geographic area that it operates,
our airport is international airport. So if things are slowing
up in the Northeast because of controller shortages, then that
(03:24):
may result in delays here at Tampa in the form
of groundstop. It's almost like you gotta turn the spiggot
down a little bit in order to manage the traffic.
Speaker 1 (03:33):
We're joined by Michael Stevens, CEO of Tampa International Airport.
You know, TPA always ranked as one of the top
airports in the country. What is it that sets your
airport apart from others?
Speaker 2 (03:44):
You know, I think it's a couple of things.
Speaker 3 (03:46):
I think we've designed efficiency into our DNA from the
very inception. It's one of the few airports that has
distributed airsides right the hub and spoke models, so you're
not bottlenecking at one or two throughputs to get to security.
That's one of the first things in terms of the
design that's baked in. Another thing, we always from the
(04:09):
beginning of Tampa International Airport's history, thought about the passenger experience.
We don't want passengers to have to walk anymore than
seven hundred steps steps before you get to your next
piece of what we call movement or conveyance equipment. That
can be an elevator, that can be an escalator or
a moving sidewalk, or just the distance from the shuttles
(04:31):
to the gates.
Speaker 2 (04:31):
So those are some of the built in things.
Speaker 3 (04:33):
In fact, Tampa International had the first automated shuttle system
in the entire world, not Disney, not some of the
places in Europe, at Tampa International, right, So a part
of it's baked in the design. But here's the real secret,
sauce Ran, if I'm being honest with you, it's our people.
It's our people. You're up in Chicago. I moved down
from the northeast. And if you come into Tampa International
(04:55):
Airport and if you even look like you're looking around
or you need some help, you don't have to wait,
you don't have to go and track anybody down. Nine
times out of ten, there's going to be a member
of our team that will come up to you and say, hey, Sara,
are you lost?
Speaker 2 (05:09):
You need some directions, you need some help.
Speaker 3 (05:12):
That's what makes us different, and you feel it when
you come into Tampa International day in and dawn.
Speaker 1 (05:18):
The region continues to grow, and so has Tampa International
airsided first new airside in almost twenty years, obviously aimed
at helping address that issue. How is that project coming along.
Speaker 3 (05:30):
That project is coming along spectacularly well. I think Tampa
and the Tampa Bay region are going to be incredibly
proud of this facility.
Speaker 2 (05:39):
It's going to be about.
Speaker 3 (05:40):
Six hundred thousand square foot facility and give you an
order of magnitude for those folks who have flown out
of AIRSIDEC where Southwest Airlines primarily operates out of. It's
going to be twice the size of Airside.
Speaker 2 (05:53):
See.
Speaker 3 (05:53):
It's going to have state of the art technology in it.
The way that we're going to arrange our food and
beverages and concessions, it's just going to be intuitive. It's
going to have two world class lounges. One is going
to be a Delta lounge and another one is going
to be a common use lounge, sixteen gates, and a
customs facility. It is going to be a beautiful but
(06:17):
efficient facility that is going to support our growth in
the region in the decades to come.
Speaker 1 (06:23):
We're joined by Michael Stevens, CEO of Tampa International Airport.
Of course, you can learn more at Tampa Airport dot com.
One thing you've been very open about, and this ties
into what we were just talking about the growth of
the region, the transit issues across the Tampa Bay area,
especially right around the airport. I always say, you know,
we have so many people from across the country and
(06:45):
around the world. They fly into our first class, modern
airport only to venture out and see infrastructure that hasn't
kept up. Tell us about that and how it ties
into the airport itself.
Speaker 3 (06:59):
So, yeah, I think Tampa International and the growth of
the Tampa Bay Region there are you know, intrinsically and
inextricably related, meaning that if the region grows, Tampa International growth,
If Tampa International growth, the region grows attracting businesses, tourists,
all those types of things. A part of what you're
(07:19):
seeing now this area is so booming, the Tampa Bay region.
We're expecting another ten million passengers to come through TBA
in the next ten to eleven years. Right, So if
we did twenty six million passengers roughly this year, so
in the next ten years, you're talking about thirty six
thirty seven million passengers. So we have to and you know,
(07:40):
manage that volume. We're doing that on the airport campus
with things like AIRSID, with the new red Express curbs,
with extending you know, and redoing the terminal facility, all
those things that you've been seeing over the years. But
there's only so much we can do on the campus.
We have to address the traffic issue within the main
(08:01):
core of Tampa Bay, right. We have to be able
to move people in a more efficient way. So that's
why I'm leaning into the transportation and the connectivity you know, discussion,
because if people come into Tampa International and have an
amazing experience, but you can't get downtown in under thirty minutes.
(08:22):
I went to the opening lightning, you know, game or
reception downtown last night. It took me thirty five almost yeah,
almost forty minutes to get from the airport to downtown.
Speaker 2 (08:32):
We got to do better than that if we're going
to stay competitive.
Speaker 1 (08:34):
What are some of the ideas that you have in
order to accomplish that goal, because I know, you know,
you've looked at the region beyond the airport itself, the
campus itself, at some potential solutions.
Speaker 3 (08:46):
Yeah, you know, I before coming to the airport, I
work for the transfit Authority, I work for HEART, so
I'm very familiar with mobility planning, and I think what
we have to do is we have to start somewhere, Ryan,
I need that We've had these big, massive ideas, all
good ideas, but sometimes you got to start somewhere. In
my mind, I think where we can start is leveraging
(09:10):
what we have now that we didn't even have eight
years ago. We have a vibrant district in water Street
where people can live, work and play. Gas Works is
coming online. Now, you have all the growth and development
in the downtown core Midtown. My vision is simply this
from water Street to the airport, for example, if we
(09:30):
talk about a place to start, that's about seven miles,
seven miles. If we could connect an automated people mover
from say downtown right through the core areas, so from
water Street maybe down to Midtown over here to West Shore,
and then what I would like to see and what
(09:50):
I've been talking about, is developing an urban air mobility center.
Speaker 2 (09:56):
And what does that mean.
Speaker 3 (09:57):
That means a place where that train or people mover
very similar to sky connect at the airport, which is
not rail, it's a rubber wheel train can connect to
that mobility center.
Speaker 2 (10:07):
Right. You can also have ride share there.
Speaker 3 (10:10):
You can have a number of different things, including some
future technology that we're planning for at the airport, which
is ev tall, electric, vertical and takeoff landing aircraft.
Speaker 2 (10:19):
So it's going to take a mix of that.
Speaker 3 (10:21):
And then from that point you can connect from that
urban mobility center right over to the airport. So imagine
if you're downtown and just like you can check your
bags at the rental car center now and they're on
your plane by the time you get to your gate,
you can do that from a facility potentially downtown, So
you can check in potentially downtown, take a people mover
all the way down to the airport, your bags are
at your gate, and you can get some time back.
(10:44):
The final piece that I would say as a start,
as a start, the same thing can happen from that.
The Urban Mobility Center right across the Howard Franklin Bridge
f DOT has already made the capital investment to put
a transit envelope there. So imagine that same people mover
come in from West Shore over here roughly to Caroline
feather Sound, and then you can connect from there. There's
(11:05):
so many opportunities to activate things like greater connectivity with
PI et cetera.
Speaker 1 (11:10):
And this has to be you know, I grew up
in the Tampa Bay area. And I went to school
at the University of South Florida, so I've been talking
about this, hearing about this for decades now. The transit
issues here. This has to be something that people you
taught to in the community, business leaders are focused on
because it's an impediment.
Speaker 2 (11:29):
It is it is.
Speaker 3 (11:30):
I think, you know, if you take a look back
even eight nine years ago, again, a lot of the
things that we have didn't exist then. We didn't have
a water street, we didn't have a gas works being developed,
we didn't have the Riverwalk being completed, we didn't have
a midtown.
Speaker 1 (11:46):
Downtown used to be right. There was a lot of
potential there and it was just right. Wasn't developed right
now it is, that's.
Speaker 3 (11:53):
Right, So we have to, you know, rise to the occasion.
And I say that Tampa Bay, this region is a
region of innovation. The first commercial flights in the entire
world took place right here in Tampa Bay from Saint
Pete over to Tampa.
Speaker 2 (12:07):
So we are worthy of that.
Speaker 3 (12:09):
And if you think about the past in Tampa, it
was a vast streetcar network around the entire city where
people can move around. So we can, we can, we can,
we can do this, I have no doubt.
Speaker 1 (12:20):
Final question for you, what are some of your priorities
now that you're the CEO of Tampa International Airport. I
mean we've talked about obviously some of them, but are
there some other things that you came into the job thinking, Uh,
these are issues that I want to address. These are
you know, towards the top of my list.
Speaker 3 (12:40):
Well, other than that regional connectivity and mobility. I think
continuing to deliver a world class product in terms of
of of what Tampa International does best, and that is
get people in and out efficiently. I want to continue
to extend our our NonStop roots internationally. We've been having
(13:01):
really great success Latin America. Amsterdam is back, we just
announced that Bogota, now too long ago, is going to
be going daily Mexico City, so I think we need
to continue to build on that. We have a vibrant
business and travel and leisure community here, so I want
to be able to deliver on that. I want to
continue to look at how we can innovate in the airport,
things like biometrics, things like light art that makes us
(13:24):
more efficient and more effective in managing a very very
complex business.
Speaker 1 (13:29):
And you've seen one more questions to follow up because
you mentioned business travel a second ago. We've certainly seen
a leisure travel bounce back after the pandemic. There were
some questions I think as to how much business travel
would bounce back, especially with some of the technology that
was developed, Zoom and things like that. What have you
seen at the airport.
Speaker 3 (13:48):
We've seen that there is a good appetite still out
there for business travel, notwithstanding the things we had to
do out of COVID with Zoom and teams, you cannot
replace the value of face to face relationship building, just
like you and I are doing.
Speaker 2 (14:02):
We could have done this remotely, right, yeah, But being able.
Speaker 3 (14:04):
To sit in in the presence of someone else and
really talk about the things that matter, that's important. So
I think business travelers are understanding that, and you've been
seeing that kind of movement throughout the country. Folks are
going back to the office, all those types of things.
So we're bullish on the business travel market all right.
Speaker 1 (14:24):
Michael Stevens, CEO of Tampa International Airport. You can learn
more at Tampa Airport dot com and I recommend following
TPA on social media too. Definitely got a fantastic team
doing that work. Michael, thank you so much for taking
a few minutes to come in. Really appreciate it.
Speaker 2 (14:40):
Thank you Ryan. It's my pleasure.
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