Thunderstorm delays 20 flights in Kolkata

Around 20 incoming and outgoing flights from Kolkata were delayed or diverted due to thunderstorms and continuous rain in the city. The schedule delay is said to have affected more than 3000 travellers who were held up at the airport and mid-air.

The natural phenomenon, which caused banners and wires to fall in Jadavpur and Sonarpur, also led to the delay or cancellation of many local and national railway services. Not even celebrities were spared as a chartered plane carrying the IPL team of Kolkata Knight Riders was also not given the green signal for landing due to the extreme weather conditions and was made to hover over the city. When the fuel started running low, the plane was diverted to Guwahati for a safe landing. The flight was held up in Guwahati till 10 PM, and the players could finally land in Kolkata at 11 at night.

Including this, 8 flights were diverted to different airports in Guwahati and Bengaluru, whereas others were cancelled as all operations were suspended for almost an hour. The authorities of the airport were forced to stop the operations from 7-9 PM, leaving thousands of travellers waiting at the airport. International arrival of a flight from Dhaka was also called to return after being unable to gain a safe landing point in the city.

Though many rejoiced the rain as a relief from the scorching heat the city had been witnessing for the past few weeks, the thunderstorm also ended up harming the city's working cycle as many everyday operations had to be halted.