Flight services at Kolkata’s Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport have resumed after a temporary suspension due to severe cyclone Dana.
After flight services resumed in the morning, the airport was back to its busy way with passengers. Long queues were seen at the entry gate, security check and luggage screening areas. Authorities initially announced the closure on Wednesday, halting all flights from Thursday evening until Friday morning as a precautionary measure against the severe weather conditions. At Kolkata airport, which typically manages around 400 flights daily, services restarted at 8 am on Friday. The first departure was Indigo’s Flight 6E6514 to Imphal, scheduled at 8.40 am, while the first arrival was Vistara Flight UK747 from Delhi, which landed at 8.27 am.
A senior spokesperson of NSCBI Airport today said that Kolkata international airport was fully prepared to handle the cyclone impact. Luggage trolleys were secured and sandbags were placed in front of the departure gates, anticipating strong winds. However, severe cyclone Dana did not have much effect on West Bengal, and no major damage was reported by the authorities so far. However, bomb scares were again reported at NSCBI Airport last night, affecting multiple flights consecutively. Despite recent warnings from the central government to take strict action against such hoax calls, such occurrences have not stopped. Several flights made emergency landings at Kolkata airport after a threat on X.
Authorities took no risks and ordered immediate landing of the aircraft. Altogether, 11 flights made emergency landings urgently at Kolkata Airport following a bomb scare. According to airport sources, posts on X claimed that bombs were placed on flights operated by Indigo, SpiceJet, and Alliance Air. As a result, the flights were grounded at Kolkata Airport, where they were directed to the isolation bay for a thorough search. The Central Industrial Security Force, along with bomb and dog squads, quickly responded and inspected all three aircraft, finding no explosives. Further details revealed seven Indigo flights, one Akasa flight, one SpiceJet flight, and two Alliance Air flights were affected by the bomb threat. The threat even extended to the airport terminal building. The threatening post read: “Bombs have been placed inside the airport and on flights. No one will survive. Consider this your last day.” NSCBI airport spokesperson also said that the Bhubaneshwar airport (Bhubaneshwar’s Biju Patnaik International Airport), which sees about 100 daily flights, resumed operations at 8 am. The temporary halt affected numerous passengers, leading to substantial disruptions and delays. Early Friday morning saw a high influx of passengers at both airports as services gradually returned to normal.