India: Flights suspended at Kolkata airport for 15 hours ahead of Cyclone Dana

Flight operations at Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport in Kolkata will be suspended for 15 hours starting at 6:00 PM on Thursday as a precautionary measure ahead of Cyclone Dana.

On Tuesday, the West Bengal government announced that schools and academic institutions would remain closed in several parts of the state following a notice from the India Meteorological Department (IMD) regarding Cyclone Dana, which is expected to make landfall on the West Bengal coast by October 24.

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The IMD has indicated that Cyclone Dana is likely to move northwestwards and intensify into a severe cyclonic storm over the northwest Bay of Bengal by the early hours of October 24. It is expected to cross the north Odisha and West Bengal coasts between Puri and Sagar Island, near Bhitarkanika and Dhamara in Odisha, between the night of October 24 and the morning of October 25, as a severe cyclonic storm with wind speeds of 100-110 km/h, gusting up to 120 km/h.

• Schools shut, tourists asked to leave as eastern India braces for cyclone