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Due to the effects of Cyclone Remal, Biman Bangladesh Airlines has grounded all its flights to Cox's Bazar and one flight to Kolkata on Sunday, followed by another flight to Kolkata on Monday.
General Manager of Public Relations at the flag carrier, Boshra Islam, told bdnews24.com about these cancellations around 11:30 pm on Saturday.
She said the Sunday evening flight (BG-395) to Kolkata and the Monday morning flight (BG-391) to the same city were also cancelled.
Flights to additional destinations are being monitored, and any decisions will be made based on changes in conditions.
The deep depression over the Bay of Bengal intensified into Cyclone Remal around 6:00pm.
Meteorologist Tariful Newaz Kabir told bdnews24.com at 10pm on Saturday that it is expected to make landfall on Sunday afternoon, passing through Khepupara in Bangladesh and Kolkata in India.
It is likely to intensify further and move northwards to the coasts, Bangladesh Meteorological Department said in a special bulletin on Saturday evening.
It asked the ports of Payra and Mongla to lower local cautionary signal No. 3 and hoist danger signal No. 7, as the storm was centred at 365 to 405 kilometres from these ports.
For Chattogram and Cox’s Bazar ports, the danger signal No. was 6. The storm centre was 400 to 455 kilometres away from these ports.
The cyclone was packing winds of up to 88kph at its centre, where the sea is very rough.
Earlier, the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority ordered a suspension of river transport services, including passenger launches, in the coastal areas.
The disaster management and relief ministry instructed Satkhira, Bagerhat, Khulna, Barguna, Patuakhali, and Bhola districts to take special precautions to combat the effects of the storm.