After a hiatus of 21 hours due to the tempest Remal, aerial operations recommenced at Kolkata’s aerodrome on Tuesday, as per an official communiqué on Monday. The initial aircraft to take off was IndiGo’s service to Port Blair at precisely 8:59 AM, while the premier inbound flight, operated by SpiceJet from Guwahati, touched down at 9:50 AM, confirmed a senior official from the Airports Authority of India (AAI).

Preparations for boarding were underway for additional flights, the official noted. The final departure on Sunday was clocked at 12:16 PM. Despite the resumption of flight activities, normalization of operations is anticipated to require additional time, according to airport insiders.

Cyclone Remal, which made its terrestrial incursion around midnight on Sunday, unleashed torrential downpours across southern West Bengal, encompassing Kolkata. Consequently, Kolkata airport authorities preemptively ceased flight operations for a duration of 21 hours commencing from midday Sunday, to mitigate the cyclone’s potential repercussions.

This cautionary action was resolved during a conclave of the NSCBI Airport stakeholders convened on Saturday, an official divulged.