Tampa International Airport is replacing paper tickets and aging pay stations with license-plate readers and contactless payments across its three parking garages, a $6.2 million project aimed at getting drivers in and out faster.

Crews are swapping 18 old ticketing machines in the economy, short-term, and long-term garages for touchscreen kiosks. Travelers can tap Apple Pay or other contactless methods, swipe a card, or scan a prepaid QR code. License-plate cameras now sit at every garage entrance. Stay under an hour, and the system reads the plate on the way out and lifts the gate—no ticket required.

Joshua Gillin, TPA’s senior communications manager, described the change as matching what private garages across the region already do. “It’s going to read your license plate when you come in,” he said. “If you’re there for less than an hour… you can just pull up. You don’t need to give it your ticket.”

The Hillsborough County Aviation Authority Board approved the spending late last year. Officials expect the work to wrap up next month.

The upgrade is a straightforward infrastructure play: less paper, fewer machines that jam, shorter lines at peak travel times. It relies on existing technology rather than new processes or staffing. For an airport that handles millions of passengers a year, shaving minutes off parking is one of the few improvements travelers actually notice.

Follow the St. Pete-Clearwater Sun on Facebook, Google, & X

St. Pete-Clearwater Sun: local St. Pete-Clearwater & Tampa Bay, FL news at PIE-Sun.com