Cell Phone Parking Lot-Tampa International Airport

This is a very good idea! I wish more/​all airports had this.
Free parking (as long as you stay with your vehicle).
Free WiFi
Large arrivals board, with easy to read flight numbers and times, night or day.
Free electric vehicle charging station
Restrooms
Vending
Best of all, there’s easy access to the arrivals, so as soon as the passenger gets their baggage, it’s quick to pick them up.

With two big elevated screens it feels like a modern version of a drive in movie theater. Convenient location right at the airport!!! (Well, duhhhhh.) A concession stand would improve the ambiance.
Great sound effects of airplane engines in the background. And its surround sound! Much better than a tinny sounding speaker that you hung on the window at the old drive-​in movies. Kind of a repetitive soundtrack though.
They ought to make gas hog SUVs park in the back row though, so the view of the environmentally-​conscious Prius owners ungreenly sipping bottled water isn’t blocked.
Still, its my favorite cell phone lot at TPA. Hey, Number One in a field of one still counts.

Best part about arriving early to pick up a passenger? Bathrooms located in the cell phone parking lot! The arrival screens are also very helpful. Usually other waiters are pretty courteous about keeping their headlights out of your face during the night waits & parking in their own parking spots, but you get a few unruly people who think they own the entire parking lot. Just keep your distance & you’ll be fine!

A good option at the airport. You’re not allowed to free park for short pickups any longer in the airport lots but you can wait out here, catch some rays, pee, and watch the planes fly over head. I let my dog daughter run free and as soon as I stopped to tie my shoe she jumped into a lady’s Cadillac Escalade and made herself at home. I can’t blame her but not my best look. Don’t make the same mistake.
There’s a nice arrivals board to keep you updated. Good luck with the security once you get to the actual curb. Your peeps better be ready to roll or you get hassled. Tampa International Airport is under construction so it’s rough times. And don’t let your buddies’ early arrival excitement fool you. They still have to tram their way over and pick up their luggage. Ain’t nobody going to be ready for pickup ahead of scheduled arrival time. (10 – 15 mins. after probs more realistic.)

Tampa does the airport right. The waiting lot is a breeze. Pull up, find your arriving flight on then screen and sit back and relax. Once the flight lands, the board is updated and off you go to baggage claim to pick up your loved ones. No need to drive around the airport trying to spot your family/​friends.
Well done, Tampa.

Best of all the airports I have been to.
This lot has 2 large screens which post the arrivals of flights! Awesome. It also boasts a pretty decent rest room. And if you are lucky, you’re there on a day the rood truck is there, in case your wait becomes longer than expected.
Super job an this one Tampa!!!

What’s to say about a parking lot located at the airport where you can wait for your party to arrive. It’s a parking lot. They do have restrooms and a vending area for those who may be waiting for a while. There are also large boards located at both ends so you can keep track of incoming flights, but it seems some of the boards need to be replaced as the pixels are missing. The cell phone lot can get a bit tight and crowded during peak times and it appears the airport expansion has some of the lot cordoned off for construction purposes.

Traveling by air is notoriously unreliable. I’m usually the one flying, but on the rare occasion that I’m the pickup person at the airport, the flight I’m waiting for is usually delayed. Luckily, the cell phone parking lot is here to the rescue. A place where I can sit in peace, alone, looking at my phone, wondering why I didn’t make them take an Über.
It’s a nice courtesy at the airport, designed to keep cars from clogging up the arrivals area. The two arrival boards with incoming flights are good touches although they are not always updated in real time — it’s not uncommon to see an arrival listed as ten minutes ago that still hasn’t landed. But I suppose it could be much worse. You could be eternally circling the airport in your car while you wait for that «just landed» text — and we’re not supposed to be looking at our phones while driving anyway, right?
Thank you TIA for offering this lot for the suckers who pick up people from the airport. It will never be super convenient to fly or to have your loved ones fly to you but this lot makes it easier for everyone.

This perk is a must have at ALL airports. Is is extremely convenient where you don’t get stuck paying parking fees if you are here too early to pick someone up. The huge marquee lists all the incoming flights and their statuses. If only all airports had this feature, it would make life much easier. Another reason why we are all spoiled with TIA.

When you travel a lot you know a good thing at an airport. TPA is one of the easiest international airports to deal with and this cell phone lot is a detail that makes TPA great. Easy in and out. Plenty of parking. Huge board with all airline arrival times. Restrooms. Vending machines. Free wifi. What more do you need when picking someone up?

The nicest cell phone waiting lot I’ve ever seen. Giant electronic boards showing current arrivals, plenty of parking spots, free wi-​fi, bathrooms, snack machines, emergency phones, well-​lit, etc. A lot of other airports could take a major cue from Tampa.

Waiting for my mom. Really good thing — WiFi.
One thing I would like to see here is a slightly larger grassy area to walk dogs in and a «pet station.» I bring my own bags to clean up but as you can tell from the bottom of my shoes, many do not.

Very generous in parking spaces. Also very clean as well. I love the fact they have a free electric charging station if you have an electric vehicle. I was waiting for a while and had to wait here for only a short while. They also have a board to look at flight times.

In the post ⁹⁄₁₁ era having a place to stop and hang out and wait for your friend’s flight to come in is priceless. This lot is ready to find, is located close enough to the terminals, has restrooms and snack machines, and is even within reach of TPA’s WiFi. TPA is my favorite airport, it’s like they’ve thought of everything.

These need to be in every airport. Yeah, it’s just a paved parking lot, but it has perks. The huge illuminated signs are way easier than checking flight info on your phone or calling (which is how it was in Orlando when I was last there). The restrooms are reasonably clean, there are vending machines if you didn’t plan to bring snacks, and it’s easy to access due to TIA marking it well. Last but not least, it has free wifi. And charging spots for electric cars. Awww yiss!

Free parking at the airport! All you have to do is wait for your loved one to signal that they’ve landed. Give them about 25 minutes from that time to pick up their luggage and then you can go get them. It’s a pretty genius thing, really!

One of the most convenient to get to cell phone lots for a not so big an airport. Right off the freeway, the signs direct you to the lanes without any confusion bringing you to this very decent sized cell phone lot.
Not many people know but for those with Green cars, the lot even has a charging station for you to charge your cars while waiting for your visitors’ flights to land.
The lot is divided into 2 halves — each having its own huge flight arrival status screen. Also the rest rooms are pretty decent and well kept.
All in all, a very well managed and easy to use cell phone lot.

What’s Not to love about a free place to wait for a passenger to arrive?! The only question I have is why don’t all airports provide this friggin awesome service?
Restrooms-​check. Vending machines-​check. Free wifi-​check. Updated flight board-​you betcha!
Of course TIA has free for the first hour short term parking but it’s sometimes more convenient to hang out in the cell lot and when your traveler arrives, curbside pickup with a smile!

All airport departure and arrival areas for pickup are total chaos. In the past I have driven around TIA, waiting on a late plane, slow disembarkment or luggage problems till I was ready to run out of gas.
The cell phone lot has changed all of our lives for the better!
Now you arrive on time according to the airline and go directly to the cell phone lot. Put on some tunes, get comfortable and wait for the call that your passenger has arrived and has their luggage. Go pick them up, no more traffic jams in front of Delta or road rage in front of the terminal. Yes, life as we know it has definitely improved.
What’s a girl to do? Manage your time well and not let it manage you.

I’ve been to many a cell phone lot. Tampa’s is by far the nicest. Two big status boards, restrooms, vending machines and close to the terminal. It also is clean. Try Orlando cell lot. (a big open space). A good place to wait for folks coming in.