Summer Travel Tips from PIE - Go Easy!

May 23, 2022

St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport (PIE) Summer Travel Tips

Airports are planning for a very busy summer travel season and want to emphasize that patience is greatly appreciated as many of our businesses are doing their best to keep up with increased demand for air travel.  Along with our many tourism partners, our businesses are hiring and training more staff to provide you with the best travel experience. 

Here are our tips to help make your travel easy as PIE!

Airline Travel Tips

  • Plan to arrive 2 hours before your scheduled flight departure time and check departure gate.  PIE has two separate gate areas 2-6 and 7-11 that are not connected, so make sure you are at your correct gate 30 minutes before departure ready to board.  Please check with airline for carry-on luggage requirements and sizes.

    Airport Travel Tips

  • We expect our Long-term parking to fill to capacity and will be directing vehicles to park in our Economy Lots.   A complimentary shuttle is provided between the economy lots and the terminal.  The Key Lime Economy Lot is the primary Economy Lot and the Strawberry PIE Lot will be as needed accepts credit and debit cards only when exiting.   No overnight parking is allowed in Short-term parking.  For parking info and maps check fly2pie.com/parking-and-transportation/parking
  • Active loading and unloading only at curbside in front of terminal.  A free cell phone lot is available to await your party when they are curbside with their luggage.

    ü  The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) Gateway Express Project is under construction on the roadways surrounding the airport.  Please allow travel time and check updates at fdottampabay.com/project

  • More information, along with our terminal map and parking map and airline websites are located on our website fly2pie.com

TSA Travel Tips - tsa.gov/travel  

  • Pack smart; start with empty bags. Airline passengers who pack for travel with empty bags are less likely to bring prohibited items through a TSA checkpoint. Check for prohibited items by using the “What Can I Bring?” page on TSA.gov.
  • Know before you go.  Plan to arrive at the airport in plenty of time to check in, check bags, and complete security screening in time to avoid stressful sprints to the departure gate. At the TSA checkpoint, have a valid ID card readily available and follow the liquids rule of 3.4 ounces or less, except for hand sanitizer, which has a temporary 12-ounce limit in carry-on baggage.
  • Contact TSA for help if there are questions or concerns. Those who are preparing to travel and may have special circumstances, considerations or general questions about airport screening can get live assistance by tweeting questions and comments to @AskTSA or via Facebook Messenger, weekdays from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. EDT and on weekends/holidays from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. EDT. You can also call the TSA Contact Center at 866-289-9673.
  • TSA also offers TSA Cares, a helpline for travelers with disabilities, medical conditions and other special circumstances. You may submit a request for assistance by calling TSA Cares at 855-787-2227, weekdays from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. and on weekends/holidays from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. TSA Cares are open 365 days a year. Passengers may also use the TSA Cares form available on the TSA website which can be found at https://www.tsa.gov/travel/passenger-support.
  • Enroll now in TSA PreCheck® to “Travel with Ease.” By enrolling in TSA PreCheck, airline passengers can avoid removing shoes, belts, liquids, food, laptops and light jackets at the TSA checkpoint. Most new enrollees receive their known traveler number within five days, and membership lasts for five years. Nationally in April, 94% of TSA PreCheck passengers waited less than 5 minutes at the checkpoint (at PIE, it’s 100%!).
  • Face masks are optional but recommended. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends face masks for passengers aged 2 and older in indoor areas of public transportation and transportation hubs as an effective precaution for those who seek to avoid exposure to COVID in higher-risk public spaces. CDC provides health recommendations for domestic travel during COVID-19 and international travel on its website at CDC.gov.

Happy Summer Travels!

Thank you!

St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport (PIE)