Many passengers who were unaware of the suspension of flights at the Calcutta airport from Sunday noon till 9 am on Monday because of Cyclone Remal landed up in front of the terminal building on Sunday.

Nearly all the seats in the airport lobby, which can be accessed through gate 3C, were occupied and queues were spotted outside the booking counters.

Metro reported on Sunday that 394 incoming and outgoing flights, both domestic and international, had been cancelled from noon on Sunday till 9am on Monday.

On Sunday, 39 flights took off and 41 landed till noon. Nine flights that were to take off from Calcutta before noon were cancelled.

An IndiGo flight from Varanasi, which landed at 11.09am, was the last to arrive in the city, airport officials said. A flight for Bangalore, which took off at 12.16pm, was the last to leave.

Many men and women, with children in tow, were seen trying to get bookings on post-Remal flights.

Officials at the booking counter of IndiGo said they were explaining to people that they could opt for a refund or rebooking on flights that would leave once airport operations resume.

Mohammed Mahfouz Alam, a resident of Howrah who works at a restaurant in Kuwait, said he was scheduled to fly out on Sunday afternoon but got to know that his flight had been cancelled.

“I was supposed to fly out this afternoon. The flight would stop at Mumbai and from there we would fly to Kuwait,” Alam said at the airport late on Sunday morning.

“But I just came to know that all flights have been suspended here. I will speak to the airline authorities and try to book a ticket on the first available flight after the operations resume.”

Dhaka residents Sanjida Ferdush and Maroof Billa were stuck in the city as their flight to Bangladesh stoodcancelled.

Billa underwent surgeryin his leg for a ligament injury at a private hospital in thecity.

“My husband underwent an operation and we were supposed to leave for home today. We came to know that all flights have been cancelled because of Cyclone Remal. We had no other option but to extend our booking at the hotel,” Ferdush said.

The usually busy arrival level of the airport’s terminal building looked desolate and empty.

A few taxis, app cabs and cars were parked in front of the building that otherwise has a long line of vehicles.

Trains

As many as 53 suburban trains were cancelled between 11pm on Sunday and 6am on Monday.

Railway officials said the cancelled trains were mostly in the Sealdah South and Main sections.

“Operations will be restored after we assess the situation on Monday morning,” said officials.