Bhubaneswar: Biju Patnaik International Airport (BPIA) in Bhubaneswar has decided to suspend flight operations from 5 pm of Thursday to 9 am of Friday in view of the impending cyclone ‘Dana.’
As per the Airports Authority of India (AAI), the flight services at the Bhubaneswar airport will remain suspended for 16 hours from Thursday 5 pm till 9 am of October 25.
The move comes as the cyclonic storm is set to make a landfall in Odisha between Bhitarkanika in Kendrapada district and Dhamra in Bhadrak by October 25 morning.
Earlier, the Indian Railways had suspended more than 200 trains in view of cyclone Dana as a precautionary measure to ensure the safety and security of passengers.
As per the latest update of the India Meteorological Department (IMD), cyclonic storm DANA over the east-central & adjoining west-central Bay of Bengal moved northwest-wards and lay centred about 420 km southeast of Paradip (Odisha), 450 km south-southeast of Dhamara (Odisha) and 500 km south-southeast of Sagar Island (West Bengal).
“It is very likely to move northwestwards and intensify into a severe cyclonic storm over central and adjoining northwest Bay of Bengal by early morning of 24th 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,” the IMD bulletin read.