Power cut off for repairs at 1 TPA airside after major outage; some flights relocated to other terminals

TAMPA, Fla. - For most passengers Thursday, Tampa International Airport seemed fairly normal but behind the scenes, it was all hands on deck working on the airport's power grid. 

"To our travelers and guests, this is a rare event has never happened in our 50-year history. What happened last night was completely unacceptable," said TPA’s Executive Vice President of Operations and Customer Service John Tiliacos.

TPA officials say the weather caused an unprecedented power outage.

RELATED: Power restored at Tampa International Airport after major outage impacts terminals: Officials

That event was a massive power outage causing the airport's main terminal and airsides to go dark around 9 p.m. Wednesday night. Teco officials are blaming it on the weather.  

The airport does have a redundant power system. It kicked on fairly quickly, but for some reason didn't light up Airsides A or F, causing serious safety concerns.

"The redundancy is in place so if there’s an outage anywhere on a loop of the air system an alternate feed will come in and restore power," explained Drew Sirianni with TECO. 

Officials say Airside A was a quick fix, but Airside F will require some seven to eight hours worth of additional repairs. The power to Airside F will be off Thursday evening and is expected to come back on by mid-morning on Friday. 

Power on Airside F will be off most of Thursday.

"It is a rarity for us to say we're going to have an army in place is an understatement," Sirianni said. 

International travelers who would've used F are being diverted to other airsides. The rest of the airport should appear more or less business as usual.