The authorities of Kolkata airport have decided to suspend flight operations for 21 hours from Sunday noon in view of the possible impact of cyclone Remal, an official said here.
The precautionary measure was taken after a meeting of the stakeholders of the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International (NSCBI) Airport here on Saturday.
“In view of cyclone Remal's impact on the coastal region of West Bengal, including Kolkata, a meeting was held with the stakeholders and it has been decided to suspend flight operations from 1200 IST on May 26 to 0900 IST on May 27 due to predicted heavy winds and heavy to very heavy rainfall in Kolkata,” NSCBI airport director C Pattabhi said in a statement.
With a wind speed of 110-120 km per hour, gusting to 135 kmph, the cyclonic storm is likely to make landfall on May 26 at midnight along the adjoining coasts of West Bengal and Bangladesh.
The Met Office has warned of extremely heavy rainfall in the coastal districts of West Bengal and north Odisha on May 26-27.
A storm surge of up to 1.5 metres is expected to inundate low-lying areas of coastal West Bengal and Bangladesh at the time of landfall.
