India’s Kolkata Airport suspends flight ahead of cyclone warning

Flight operations will be suspended at India’s airport in Kolkata (formerly Calcutta) the capital of India's West Bengal state 21 hours from May 26.

The directive is in view of a possible impact of Cyclone Remal. Remal is the first pre-monsoon cyclone in the Bay of Bengal this season.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued red and orange alerts for West Bengal’s Coastal districts and Kolkota respectively ahead of the expected cyclone. Heavy rains with wind speeds reaching 80-90 kmph to 100 kmph are expected between May 26 and 27.

Authorities of the Kolkata airport took the precautionary measure following a meeting with stakeholders of the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport (NSCBI).

"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," authorities announced in a statement on May 25.

The name Remal was provided by Oman, following the regional naming system for cyclones in the north Indian Ocean.