Manipur: Meitei travelers stranded as IndiGo cancels flights at Imphal Airport

Imphal: Manipur's Meitei people, who have been trying to travel outside the state by road or air, have faced difficulties over the past two days due to flight cancellations at Imphal airport, officials said on Saturday.

The disruption in air travel is significantly affecting the Meitei community, who currently rely on flights, as highways in Manipur remain inaccessible because of the ethnic violence that began on May 3, 2023.

The Kuki-Zo people and their groups blocked the movement of Meiteis on the state’s national highways, leaving the Meitei community effectively besieged.

Hundreds of passengers, mostly Meiteis, faced hardships for the second consecutive day due to ongoing flight cancellations by IndiGo Airlines at Imphal airport.

Over a dozen IndiGo flights scheduled for Friday were cancelled, according to FlightRadar24, a flight-tracking app.

Six arrivals were cancelled: two Kolkata-Imphal flights, one Shillong-Imphal flight, two Delhi-Imphal flights, and one Guwahati-Imphal flight.

Cancelled departures included two Imphal-Kolkata flights, four Imphal-Delhi flights, one Imphal-Guwahati flight, and one Imphal-Shillong flight, leaving hundreds of passengers stranded and frustrated.

Meanwhile, the ethnic strife between the Meiteis and Kukis appears to be returning to normalcy, as over 250 displaced Meitei people returned to their homes in Waroiching village, Bishnupur district, on Thursday.

The violence claimed the lives of over 260 people from both communities and displaced more than 60,000 residents.