Bhubaneswar: As many as four Kolkata-bound flights had to divert mid-air and make emergency landing at Biju Patnaik International Airport (BPIA) in Odisha capital today due to inclement weather in the West Bengal capital.

Due to heavy downpour, the Kolkata Air Traffic Controller (ATC) didn't give landing permission to the flights. Low visibility on the runway forced the pilots to divert towards the nearest airport here.

The flights which landed at BPIA are: 6E 172 Bangalore-Kolkata, 9W 907 New Delhi-Kolkata, 6E 708 Patna-Kolkata and AI 710 Mohanbari-Kolkata.

While Indigo flights from Bangalore and Patna left for Kolkata, Air India and Jet Airways aircrafts had taken off from Mohanbari and New Delhi respectively.

Around 500 passengers have been left stranded at Bhubaneswar airport due to emergency landing.

Airport sources said that passengers will fly back once the weather conditions improve at Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport. Notably, the airlines provide temporary accommodation to passengers in case of inordinate delay in take off.