Manipur govt urges Civil Aviation Ministry to launch Imphal-Bangkok flight

Imphal: The Manipur Government has formally requested the Union Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) to introduce a direct international flight service between Imphal and Bangkok, Thailand.

The Manipur government proposes this service (for both passengers and cargo) to operate at least once or twice a week.

This development follows a recent meeting in New Delhi between Anurag Bajpai, Additional Chief Secretary (ACS-Transport & TCI), Government of Manipur, and the Secretary of the MoCA.

In an official statement, ACS Bajpai emphasized the high demand from industry associations and the general public to promote exports from Manipur to international markets.

He also suggested that the Ministry consider allowing Akasa Air and Druk Air to operate on this route, taking into account available flight slots.

Concern over Exorbitant Airfares

During the meeting, the ACS also raised serious concerns regarding the exorbitant airfares charged by various airlines operating in the Imphal sector, specifically IndiGo, Air India Express, and Alliance Air, which he noted are causing extreme hardship for the public.

Bajpai conveyed that the airfare charged in the Imphal sector is often five to six times higher than in the other seven states of the North East Region (NER).

He highlighted that these airlines are not adhering to the Government of India's guidelines for airfare capping in the Imphal sector.

Furthermore, he informed the Ministry that all operational airlines have reduced the number of aircraft serving Imphal since October 2025.

The ACS specifically highlighted that Alliance Air has suspended services on several extremely essential regional routes: Imphal-Silchar-Imphal, Imphal-Aizawl-Imphal, and Imphal-Dibrugarh-Imphal.

Citing huge public demand, he urged the MoCA Secretary to advise Alliance Air to immediately revive these routes and requested that they be considered for inclusion under the RCS-UDAN scheme.