The city airport could be shut down for several hours even if Cyclone Dana spares Calcutta.

In a meeting with the airport authorities on Tuesday, the Met department predicted crosswinds at 50-70kmph and rainfall between 70mm and 200mm in Dum Dum between October 24 afternoon and the next morning.

According to airport officials, crosswinds above 70kmph are dangerous for flights.

The airport’s two parallel runways stretch in a north-south direction. “The winds from the Bay of Bengal are supposed to blow from east to west. Which means flights would face crosswinds while landing and taking off,” said an airport official.

“The critical effect of the cyclone will start on October 24 afternoon and the landfall is expected early on October 25. At present, all operations are normal.”

A review will be held again at 12.30pm on Wednesday and a decision will be taken on whether to shut down the airport or not.

“Any decision on closing the airport will depend on the speed of the crosswinds,” the official said.

In May, the airport was shut down for 21 hours because of crosswinds triggered by Cyclone Remal. More than 400 flights were cancelled and more than 200 overflying flights were diverted.

Apart from crosswinds, airport sources said, heavy rain could lead to waterlogging in some of the operational areas, which can affect flight operations.

Trains

South Eastern Railway cancelled more than 150 trains between Wednesday and Friday. Many of them are from Howrah, Shalimar and Santragachhi.

The long-distance trains cancelled on Thursday include the Falaknuma Express (between Howrah and Secunderabad), Dhauli Express (between Shalimar and Puri), East Coast Express (between Shalimar and Hyderabad), Shatabdi Express (between Howrah and Puri) and the Coromandel Express (between Shalimar and Chennai).

The trains from Bengal cancelled on Friday are mostly from Digha and Kharagpur.

Eastern Railway has also cancelled more than a dozen express trains between Wednesday and Friday. The Sealdah-Puri Duronto Express on Wednesday, the return train on Thursday and the Kolkata-Puri Express on Thursday are among the ones cancelled.

An Eastern Railwayofficial said more than 150 local trains have been cancelled, most of them in the Sealdah South suburbansection.

“Pumps are being installed in areas prone to waterlogging. Diesel generators are being set up in major stations like Howrah and Sealdah. Additional engineering, signal and telecom staff will be deployed at the stations that are likely to bear the brunt of the storm, such as Namkhana, Diamond Harbour, Hasnabad and Bandel,” said an official of Eastern Railway.