Kolkata/Bhubaneswar: Passengers headed to Kolkata faced immense harassment after being stranded at Bhubaneswar airport from late Saturday evening to early Sunday morning following the diversion of eight Kolkata-bound flights during a nor'wester.
The nor'wester played havoc with flight operations at Kolkata airport, with the crosswinds making landing and take-off hazardous.
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Eight arriving flights were diverted while 24 were delayed as they were forced to circle above the city. A dozen departing flights had to wait till the weather improved.
The diverted flights were from Delhi, Jaipur, Srinagar, Chennai, and Guwahati. While some flights managed to return to Kolkata around 1.30 am, others were delayed longer, with the last arrivals touching down as late as 7.40 am on Sunday.
Stuck at Bhubaneswar airport ove-rnight, some passengers demonstrated at the entrance of the airport, alleging they had been stranded for hours and had to deal with "non-availability" of food and water. Even after the weather became normal, passengers faced delays in reaching their destination. "At 1.30 am, Bhubaneswar airport authorities assured us they would provide accommodation and flight services here. But we got nothing," a flyer said on X.
A senior official at Bhubaneswar airport told reporters that while six flights departed immediately after the weather improved there, passengers of two flights operated by SpiceJet had to halt for a longer time as SpiceJet does not operate at Bhubaneswar airport. "They had no engineers at night to certify the airworthiness of the aircraft. The airworthiness clearance was given in the morning," said the official.