Imphal Airfare Spike: Manipur ACS Raises Alarm with MoCA

Additional Chief Secretary (Transport & TCI) Anurag Bajpai has raised multiple civil aviation concerns of Manipur with the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) during a meeting chaired by the Secretary, MoCA, on November 10 in New Delhi.

Bajpai highlighted the steep rise in airfares charged by IndiGo, Air India Express and Alliance Air in the Imphal sector—reportedly five to six times higher than fares in other Northeastern states. He noted that airlines were not following the Centre’s airfare capping guidelines and had also reduced aircraft deployment in Imphal since October 2025.

He urged MoCA to direct Alliance Air to restore essential routes—Imphal–Silchar, Imphal–Aizawl and Imphal–Dibrugarh—and to reconsider them under RCS UDAN.

Bajpai also pressed for launching Imphal–Bangkok passenger and cargo flights to support trade, suggesting Akasa Air and Druk Air as potential operators.

To meet inter-district travel needs, he requested an increase in helicopter services, pointing out fare disparities between Pawan Hans and GVHL, and sought approval for helipads at Kamjong, Senapati and Ukhrul.

He further urged the ministry to expedite the proposal to rename Imphal International Airport as Bir Tikendrajit International Airport.