Fire breaks out on 2nd-floor extended terrace of ATC building at Kolkata airport
Times of India | 18 August 2026
KOLKATA: A fire broke out on the extended open terrace area of the second floor of the Air Traffic Control (ATC) building at Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport in Kolkata around 4am on Tuesday, triggering a swift response from the airport fire services. Flight operations remained unaffected.
Airport officials said the blaze was brought under control with three fire engines within a short time, though cooling operations and precautionary measures continued until around 6am.
The fire was confined to the second-floor open area of the building and did not affect critical ATC operations. Air traffic control is largely managed from the eighth floor, with some operations also taking place on the third floor, officials said.
"The fire was confined to an open area and there was no major disruption of work or damage to ATC or MET department equipment installed in the building. There was no need to evacuate the entire building as the firemen were quick to identify the source and contain the blaze," said airport director Vikram Singh.
Airport sources said employees noticed sparks and flames around 4am. One fire engine was immediately rushed to the spot and pressed into service. Two more fire engines from the fire station within the airport premises subsequently joined the operation. The three engines worked for nearly two hours before the fire was brought under control.
A preliminary investigation suggested that a short circuit involving decorative string lights installed on the building for Independence Day celebrations may have triggered the fire. The exact cause is being investigated, the airport director said.
"There was no impact on flight operations," he stressed.
The ATC building is critical to flight operations and aviation safety across a vast airspace covering eastern India. Air traffic controllers working from its upper floors maintain communication with pilots, issue instructions on aircraft movement and altitude, and coordinate up to 40 take-offs and landings an hour.
Kolkata ATC manages air traffic across nearly 1.4 million sq km of airspace and plays a key role in dealing with emerging aviation challenges, including GNSS spoofing and localised hazards such as laser-beam distractions during aircraft approaches.
The new ATC tower, located near the existing ATC building, has been operational since last year. It functions in parallel with the existing ATC facility for two hours every weekday afternoon.