KOLKATA: Communist Party of India (Marxist) workers staged demonstrations outside the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International airport here and the joint-user aerodrome at Bagdogra in north Bengal on Thursday. They were protesting against India-U.S. joint exercises, scheduled to begin at the Kalaikunda airbase on November 7.

An Eastern Air Command spokesman told The Hindu from Shillong that aircraft of the IAF and the U.S. Air Force were expected to start arriving on Friday.

The induction of aircraft of both the forces had begun as per schedule, an IAF spokesman said in New Delhi. One squadron of F-16 jets and AWACS of the U.S. Air Force would be in operation during the exercises.

The demonstrations marked the beginning of a series of protests planned by the Left Front across the State.

Senior CPI(M) leaders visited Kalaikunda to identify vantage points, where more than one lakh supporters are expected to assemble on November 7.

News of the arrival of an IAF aircraft triggered protests outside the airport gates in the city. Local CPI(M) leaders said if U.S. jets arrived at the city airport for refuelling on Friday, further demonstrations were likely.

The protest outside the Bagdogra aerodrome, where facilities are shared by the IAF and passenger aircraft, lasted more than two hours.

The CPI(M) leaders held the demonstration on information that a U.S. aircraft, headed for the joint exercises, was diverted to the airport.

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