TPA CEO Joe Lopano named 2025 FAA Southern Region Airport Manager of the Year
Lopano, who will retire in April, was selected for his contributions to the aviation industry and airport improvements over the past year.
The Federal Aviation Administration Southern Region Airports Division recently honored Tampa International Airport CEO Joe Lopano by naming him the Air Carrier Airport Manager of the Year in its 2025 Airport Safety Awards.
The awards, which cover a region that includes eight contiguous states as well as Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, are given annually by the FAA to recognize airport accomplishments and people who contribute meaningful improvements to the aviation industry and the region it serves.
Lopano adds the Airport Manager of the Year award to a long list of accolades over his 14-year career, including the Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council’s 2022 Herman W. Goldner Award for Regional Leadership and the 2019 H.L. Culbreath Jr. Profile in Leadership award from the Tampa Bay Chamber. He was named 2021 Airport Director of the Year by the Florida Department of Transportation, 2018 Large Airport Director of the Year by Airport Experience News, and the 2017 Person of Vision by Preserve Vision Florida. He was Visit Tampa Bay’s 2015 Ambassador of the Year and received the 2015 Aviation Professional of the Year award from the Florida Department of Transportation. In October 2024, Lopano was also inducted into the USF CUTR Florida Transportation Hall of Fame.
The FAA award focused on accomplishments from the fall of 2023 through the fall of 2024, during which time he helped lead the development or groundbreaking of several TPA improvements or expansions, including the future 16-gate Airside D, the Red Express Curbsides, checkpoint expansions at Airsides A and E and a baggage claim refresh. TPA also hosted the first-ever “air taxi” – or urban air mobility – flight in Florida, paving the way for the new technology, and has been a champion of innovation from the time he arrived at TPA in January 2011.
Lopano will retire this upcoming April. To read more about his retirement and career highlights, click here.