'Flight services at Bhubaneswar, Kolkata, airports may be hit by Cyclone Yaas'

The Airports Authority of India AAI on Monday said flight operations at Bhubaneswar Kolkata Jharsuguda and Durgapur airports are likely to be hit due to Cyclone Yaas while instructing other airports in the eastern region to be on alert in view of a possibility of change in path of cyclonic windsIt also said that civil aviation authorities in the country are taking all precautions and keeping a close tab on the movement of cyclone which is approaching the eastern coast of the countryWhile flight operations at Bhubaneswar Kolkata Jharsuguda and Durgapur airports are likely to be impacted by the cyclone Ranchi Patna Raipur Jamshedpur Bagdogra Cooch Behar Vizag and Rajahmundry airports have been instructed to be on alert in case the cyclonic winds change path the AAI said in a releaseAlso Read Cyclone Yaas likely to make landfall near Odishas Balasore on May 26Keeping safety of airport infrastructure manpower and safe flight operations in mind airports have been advised to anticipate plan and protect to safeguard the airport infrastructure and civil aviation services it saidDue to heavy rain and winds of 2025 knots gusting up to 35 knots scheduled civil flight operations at the Port Blair Airport in the Andaman amp Nicobar Islands have been suspended for Monday as per the releaseThe cyclone is very likely to cross north OdishaWest Bengal coasts between Paradip and Sagar Island around May 26 noon as a very severe cyclonic storm It is expected to bring in winds of 155 to 165 kilometres per hour gusting up to 180 kmphEarlier in the day Civil Aviation secretary Pradeep Singh Kharola took stock of the preparedness of the various airports in the region that may be impacted due to the cyclone in a virtual meeting with AAI Chairman Sanjiv Kumar Singh and other officials it saidThe meeting was attended by the AAI member of operations and planning eastern regional executive director airport directors of eastern and southern airports IMD officials Indian Navy among othersCivil Aviation Ministry and AAI are closely monitoring the situation with regular review meetings Secretary Civil Aviation on Monday chaired a meeting to take stock of the preparedness of various airports that may likely be impacted by the cyclonerdquo the AAI said in the releaseKharola instructed that all preventive measures be in place at all airports that are likely to be impacted by the cyclone to minimise any damage the AAI said adding senior management at the Airports Authority along with IMD is consistently monitoring the situation at all other airports in southern and eastern IndiaThe AAI also said that as per the latest IMD weather bulletin after laying practically stationary over Eastcentral Bay of Bengal cyclone Yaas is very likely to move slowly northnorthwest awards intensify further into a iquestsevere cyclonic stormiquest during next 24 hours and into a ldquovery severe cyclonic stormrdquo during subsequent 24 hoursIt would continue to move northnorthwestwards intensify further and reach Northwest Bay of Bengal near north Odisha and West Bengal coasts by May 26 early morning It is very likely to cross north OdishaWest Bengal coasts between Paradip and Sagar islands around noon of May 26 as a ldquovery severe cyclonic storm the AAI said in the releaseThe AAI chairman along with the senior officers is closely monitoring the situation with regular review meetings it statedThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever