Bhubaneswar: Flight services at the Biju Patnaik International Airport (BPIA) have been suspended owing to the impending severe Cyclone Dana which will hit the Odisha Coast on October 24 at midnight.
The BPIA sources informed that around 40 flights have been suspended from 5 pm on October 24 to 9 am on October 25.
“As per the IMD forecast, we are expecting wind speed of around 35 to 40 knots in Bhubaneswar and it may also exceed. This is not safe for flight operations at the airport so we convened an emergency meeting Wednesday night where all the stakeholders who are responsible for flight operations were present. Later, we unanimously decided to suspend from 5 pm on October 24 to 9 am on October 25 at Bhubaneswar airport,” said Airport Director Prasanna Pradhan on Thursday.
Pradhan also added that the airport authorities will again review the situation on Friday morning and decide whether to extend the suspension or resume flight services. He said passengers are the main priority for the airport authorities. He informed the media persons that around 40 flights including international flight services were affected due to the suspension of services in view of an impending severe cyclonic storm.
The situation is being monitored by the Ministry of Civil Aviation and the headquarters of the Airports Authority of India in New Delhi. Pradhan said they have implemented all the instructions and other instructions received from the higher authorities as pre-cyclone technical measures.
It is pertinent here to mention that the East Coast Railway has already cancelled or rescheduled around 200 trains to ensure the safety of passengers during the severe cyclonic storm.
As per the IMD, the severe cyclonic storm “DANA” lay centred over the northwest Bay of Bengal, about 180 km southeast of Paradip, 210 km south-southeast of Dhamara (Odisha) and 270 km south of Sagar Island (West Bengal) very likely to move north-northwestwards and cross north Odisha and West Bengal coasts between Puri and Sagar Island close to Bhitarkanika and Dhamara (Odisha) during mid-night of 24th to the morning of 25th October, 2024 as a severe Cyclonic Storm with a wind speed of 100-110 kmph gusting 120 kmph.
–IANS
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