Kolkata Airport closed overnight after hangars collapse due to Cyclone Amphan

Kolkata airport seems to be at the receiving end of the Cyclone Amphan which hit the city yesterday and caused massive destruction. Various reports and FlightRadar24 indicated that 40+ aircraft were parked at the Kolkata airport at the time the cyclone hit. Various ATR and Bombardier Q400 Aircraft were flown out yesterday morning to other airports in the neighbourhood such as in the North-East part of the country. Subsequently, Kolkata Airport closed for operations and will resume operations today

Visuals from the Kolkata Airport showed a flooded tarmac, runways and hangars. Two hangars also seem to have had the roof cave-in, with a Beechcraft corporate jet supposedly belonging to RPG Enterprises crushed under the roof.  The hangar was constructed circa the 1960s.

a building in the water

Kolkata Airport Closed

a plane under a bridge

a large metal structure with a red and white object in the water

Another image floating around shows an ATR 42 floating around (VT-ABB) belonging to Alliance Air. Not sure why this plane was not flown to safety beforehand.

Kolkata Airport Closed

Another video of the incident is here below.

The Kolkata airport closed down till 5 am on Thursday, May 21, 2020. 

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Ajay Awtaney is the Founder and Editor of Live From A Lounge (LFAL), a pioneering digital platform renowned for publishing news and views about aviation, hotels, passenger experience, loyalty programs, travel trends and frequent travel tips for the Global Indian. He is considered the Indian authority on business travel, luxury travel, frequent flyer miles, loyalty credit cards and travel for Indians around the globe. Ajay is a frequent contributor and commentator on the media as well, including ET Now, BBC, CNBC TV18, NDTV, Conde Nast Traveller and many other outlets.

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