Kolkata Airport and Port suspend flights and operations, check key updates

The Syama Prasad Mookerjee port in Kolkata has stopped all cargo and container handling for 12 hours.

Cyclone Remal: Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport (NSCBI) in Kolkata will suspend its flight operations for 21 hours from Sunday, May 26, due to the threat of Cyclonic Storm Remal, which is most likely to make landfall between the coasts of West Bengal and Bangladesh at midnight on Sunday.

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The IMD has said that apart from coastal West Bengal and Bangladesh, heavy to very heavy rains are expected in isolated areas over Mizoram, Tripura and southern Manipur on May 26 and over Assam, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Mizoram, Manipur and Tripura on May 27 and 28.

India Meteorological Department @Indiametdept posted on X: A deep depression over east-central BoB is located over the same region about 420 km south-southeast of Sagar Islands (WB), 420 km south of Khepupara (Bangladesh). It will intensify into a cyclone by 25th evening and will pass between Bangladesh and adjoining western coasts as SCS around 26th midnight. For more information, see.”

“In view of the impact of Cyclone Remal on the coastal region of West Bengal including Kolkata, a meeting was held with the stakeholders and it was decided to suspend flight operations from 12:00 noon IST on May 26 to 09:00 am IST on May 27 due to forecast strong winds and heavy to very heavy rainfall in Kolkata,” NSCBI Airport Director C Pattabhi said in a statement.

Apart from this, Kolkata’s Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port has suspended all cargo and container handling operations for 12 hours from 6 pm Sunday to 6 am Monday, officials said, adding that the decision was taken to protect port workers.

Rail operations in the port area will also be suspended during this time.

The cyclone is expected to make landfall on the coast of West Bengal and Bangladesh on Sunday night with wind speeds of 110 to 120 km/h and gusts of up to 135 km/h, the weather office said.