Cyclone Remal: Kolkata Airport suspends all flight operations on these days

All flight operations at Kolkata Airport will remain suspended from 12 noon on Sunday to 9 am on Monday as a precautionary measure for Cyclone Remal, which is forecast to bring very heavy rains and high wind speeds to the city.

The IMD said on Thursday that a low pressure area over the Bay of Bengal will intensify and reach Bangladesh and the adjoining West Bengal coast as a severe cyclonic storm by Sunday evening.

Air India also published a warning on its official X-Account stating that all Air India flights scheduled from Kolkata airport between May 26 and 27 are expected to be affected.

Taking to the social media platform, the airlines said, “Due to cyclonic storm conditions, Kolkata Airport will be closed from 12:00 noon on May 26 to 9:00 am on May 27. Air India flights to/from Kolkata are likely to be affected during this period. Passengers booked on these flights are requested to check our website for further updates.”

On Cyclone Remal, IMD scientist Dr Somenath Dutta said, “The exact location is 18.2 degrees North and 89.7 degrees… This system is most likely to continue moving almost northwards. It is likely to intensify into a cyclone over your east centre and adjoining North Bay today. It will continue moving northwards. It will intensify into a severe cyclone by May 26. It is likely to cross Bangladesh and adjoining West Bengal coast between Sagar Island and Khepupara as a severe cyclone with strong wind speeds of 110-120 kmph by May 26 midnight… Its impacts will mainly be heavy rains, strong winds and storm surges.”

In view of the storm, the Syama Prasad Mookerjee port in Kolkata has also decided to stop all cargo and container handling operations for 12 hours from Sunday evening, officials said.

The decision was made in the interest of the safety of the dock workers, they added.

This is the first cyclone in the Bay of Bengal this pre-monsoon season and will be named “Remal” according to a system for naming cyclones in the Indian Ocean, the weather office said.

The Met Office has warned of very heavy rainfall in the coastal districts of West Bengal, northern Odisha, Mizoram, Tripura and southern Manipur on May 26 and 27.

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.

Meanwhile, the Indian Navy has deployed diving and flood relief teams in Calcutta and deployed special naval aircraft to provide the necessary equipment on May 24 and 25.

The provision of relief supplies to assist people in need in the event of floods is also currently underway and is expected to be completed before the cyclone reaches Kolkata.

All men, equipment and material would be available at INS Netaji Subhas for immediate deployment in support of the civil administration.

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