Tropical Cyclone Arnab Disruption Alert: Eastern India Flight Groundings, Port Closures & Passenger Action Guide

What Happened on the Ground

Tropical Cyclone Arnab intensified rapidly over the warm waters of the Bay of Bengal, reaching peak winds of 222 km/h and making landfall along the eastern coast of India, impacting over four million people across coastal belts in Odisha, West Bengal, and northern Andhra Pradesh. Disaster management authorities enacted mass evacuations and implemented strict red alerts across multiple maritime districts. Widespread torrential rainfall and storm surges have overwhelmed local drainage systems, resulting in severe surface flooding, fallen high-voltage power lines, and obstructed road access surrounding major urban centres.

Aviation authorities and terminal operators have implemented precautionary ground stops, halting commercial ramp operations to protect ground crew and ground-handling equipment from dangerous winds. Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport in Kolkata (CCU) and Biju Patnaik International Airport in Bhubaneswar (BBI) have faced temporary runway closures and severe Air Traffic Control flow constraints. While wind speeds are forecast to taper off inland over the next 48 to 72 hours, runway debris clearance, technical safety inspections, and significant crew displaced across regional routes mean operational recovery will remain slow and phased through the coming days.

Operational Impact & Terminal Status

Dozens of domestic and regional international departures have been cancelled or diverted to inland secondary airports including Hyderabad (HYD), Bengaluru (BLR), and Delhi (DEL). Ramp flooding and extreme crosswinds have brought baggage processing and refuelling operations to an intermittent halt at coastal airports. South Eastern Railway has cancelled over 120 scheduled express trains, closing off alternative surface routes and worsening passenger congestion in airport departure halls. Baggage delivery systems are running with extensive backlogs, and tarmac apron congestion remains acute as diverted aircraft wait for gate vacancies.

• Affected routes & transit hubs: Major international trunk routes connecting Australian gateways (Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Brisbane) to eastern India via Singapore (Singapore Airlines, Scoot), Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia Airlines, Batik Air), and Bangkok (Thai Airways) into Kolkata (CCU). Key domestic connections operated by IndiGo, Air India, Air India Express, and Vistara connecting Kolkata and Bhubaneswar with Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, and Chennai are experiencing heavy cancellations and network-wide cascading delays.
• Carrier waiver & rebooking policies: Airlines operating in the affected zone have issued comprehensive adverse-weather policy waivers. Passengers holding tickets issued on or before the cyclone alert for travel into or out of CCU, BBI, and proximate ports can execute a one-time fee-free date change within an eligible travel window (typically 7 to 14 days) or request a full refund to original form of payment or airline travel credit without cancellation penalties. Airport staff are coordinating emergency duty-of-care meal distribution and hotel accommodation for travellers caught mid-journey on multi-leg tickets.

Airline Passenger Rights & Duty of Care

Under standard airline Conditions of Carriage and Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) guidelines, operating carriers must provide basic duty-of-care provisions—including light refreshments, drinking water, and access to communications—when flights are delayed past specified thresholds on the tarmac or in the terminal. While severe weather events like cyclones fall under extraordinary circumstances (force majeure) that exempt airlines from paying statutory cash delay compensation, operating airlines remain legally obligated to either re-route stranded passengers to their final destination at the earliest available opportunity or provide a full unpenalised refund for unused flight sectors. If an airline cannot re-route you on the same day during a long layover on an intact single ticket, the carrier is obligated to arrange hotel accommodation and airport transfers where local infrastructure permits; always obtain their written refusal before booking alternate lodging.

Practical Travel Advice & What to Do Right Now

1. Step 1: Check your operating carrier's mobile app or manage-booking portal for real-time flight status before checking out of your hotel or travelling to the terminal, as local access roads and public transport may be flooded.
2. Step 2: If stranded at the airport, proceed directly to your carrier's customer service or transit desk to obtain meal/hotel vouchers and request an official stamped Written Disruption Certificate confirming weather-induced cancellation.
3. Step 3: Review your airline's emergency weather waiver window to rebook without change fees, or request an alternate routing via inland hubs such as Delhi or Bengaluru if your initial coastal connection is cancelled.
4. Step 4: Retain all fully itemised tax receipts for reasonable out-of-pocket emergency subsistence (meals, transport, hotel accommodation) showing line-item breakdowns, dates, and currency details to submit to your operating carrier or standard travel insurance provider.