Soaring Airfares: The Unseen Cost of Isolation in Manipur

Over the past few months, the cost of flights to and from Imphal has soared to unprecedented heights, creating deep frustration among the people of Manipur.

What was once an affordable and essential mode of travel has now become a luxury that many can no longer afford.

For most residents, flying is not about convenience; it is a necessity. The state’s rail connectivity remains minimal, while road travel has grown unreliable amid ongoing disruptions from the so-called ethnic violence.

Highways such as NH-37 (Imphal–Silchar, approx. 250 km) and NH-39 (Imphal–Dimapur, around 215 km) pass through conflict-hit hill districts where movement is unsafe or completely halted.

In these circumstances, students, patients, and workers, people with genuine and urgent needs, have no choice but to rely on air travel. Yet that reliance has become a financial strain at a time when livelihoods are already under siege.

The ongoing conflict has not only divided communities but also crippled Manipur’s economy. Markets that once linked the valley and hill districts are disrupted, supply chains broken, and businesses shuttered. Prices of essentials have spiked, daily wage earners are losing income, and small traders, depending on inter-district movement, face closure. In this climate of economic instability, exorbitant flight fares have added another layer of hardship.

Air travel once served as a lifeline, connecting Imphal to Guwahati (490 km), Kolkata (1,350 km), and Delhi (2,400 km) for education, healthcare, and trade. But with one-way tickets now costing Rs 10,000 or more, even that lifeline is slipping away. Distress and restricted mobility now feed each other: those who need to leave are trapped, while those trying to bring in resources face logistical nightmares, leaving the state economically isolated and emotionally exhausted.

Airlines Flight Connectivity Rate for Northeast and Assam Circle (NESA) from Imphal

The distances between these Northeast capitals are quite short, ranging from just 210 km (Imphal–Dimapur) to around 400 km (Imphal–Itanagar), roughly equivalent to a few hours by road if conditions were good.

Despite this, airfares are as high as Rs 20,000–Rs 28,000, which is more than long-distance flights to major metros like Delhi or Mumbai.

Ordinarily, airfares from Imphal to nearby cities ranged between Rs 2,500 and Rs 5,000. Today, those same routes have surged to Rs 10,000– Rs 15,000, with the 45-minute Imphal–Guwahati (490 km) flight often costing more than the three-hour Imphal–Delhi (2,400 km) trip. The number of daily flights has also fallen from five to two, shrinking capacity and driving up prices.

Several leaders have raised the issue.

On October 1, 2024, Rajya Sabha MP Maharaja Leishemba Sanajaoba wrote to Union Minister K. Ram Mohan Naidu, urging a review of airfares.

On January 15, 2025, then Chief Minister N. Biren Singh appealed to the Centre to investigate, citing Imphal–Delhi fares nearing Rs 20,000.

On February 3, 2025, Lok Sabha MP Angomcha Bimol Akoijam slammed the government in Parliament, calling the surge “looting the tragedy-stricken people.”

Most recently, on November 3, 2025, MLA L. Susindro Meitei wrote to the Civil Aviation Ministry, demanding fare regulation and more flights.

Meanwhile, the Manipur Raj Bhavan on November 4 has expressed appreciation to the MoCA and Air India Express for their swift response in addressing the issue.

Even if fares are capped at Rs 7,000, is that affordable for the average Manipuri? Before the crisis, Imphal–Guwahati bus travel (490 km) cost only Rs 500– Rs 1,000. The leap from Rs 1,000 by road to Rs 10,000 by air is not mere inflation, it is a collapse in equal access to opportunity.

So, why the sudden hike in flight fares?
Are airlines commercialising the lives of people in distress?
Why has the price not reduced, even after repeated interventions?
How affordable is Rs 7,000 for ordinary citizens struggling to survive?
More importantly, isn’t this pattern of neglect alienating the people of the Northeast time and again?

The Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) must intervene decisively. Pricing in a region with no viable alternatives cannot follow pure market logic. Long-term relief requires restoring road networks and completing the Jiribam–Imphal railway line (111 km) to ensure affordable, safe connectivity.

The soaring fares are not just a transport issue; they reflect economic inequality and regional neglect. For Manipur, flying has never been about luxury, it has always been about survival. When that survival becomes unaffordable, it isolates an entire population. It’s time for the government to act, not just with sympathy, but with strategy and sincerity, to make mobility a right, not a ransom.