Is it BT International Airport or Imphal International Airport ? Other NE States upgrade their airports, not Manipur

By Our Staff Reporter
IMPHAL, Nov 5: Is it Bir Tikendrajit International Airport or Imphal International Airport ? The answer for now is the latter.
For Manipur Government's lack of proactive initiatives--from dwindling number of flights to skyhigh flight fares, the Imphal Airport seems to be moving backward while others are upgrading and enhancing connectivity to ease travel.
Take the name of the airport as an example. During N Biren Singh's tenure as the Chief Minister, the Manipur Legislative Assembly had taken a resolution to rename the Imphal International Airport after freedom fighter Bir Tikendrajit.
This resolution taken by the State Assembly on August 26, 2019 was however not pursued further by the Government to make it official with the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA).
As a result, the name Bir Tikendrajit International Airport has not been recognised.
A highly placed source in the Imphal Airport said, the initiative to officially rename the airport as "Bir Tikendrajit International Airport" has not been taken up with the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) for approval and publication of the same in the official Gazette. Therefore, the name of the airport hasn't changed officially and still is "Imphal International Airport."
On the sky-high prices of flight tickets, the highly placed source said "one of the root causes" is the absence of serious efforts from the State to expand and enhance connectivity.
"Dynamic pricing is a reason, but it isn't the only reason," said the source.
Without the State Government pursuing to open more flight routes and increase the frequencies of flights operating in the airport, the price naturally will be high, added the source.
When the number of flights is increased and more routes are opened, it will decongest passenger volume on particular routes and bring down the demand and the price, said the source.
The source explained, when there are direct flights from Imphal to Chennai, people will have the option to avoid other stops such as Guwahati, Kolkata or Delhi. Naturally, the demand for travel on particular routes (stops) will decrease and this will drive down the demand and the price.
To open more routes and increase flight frequency, airports must expand and upgrade. All the other States in the North East are taking up initiatives to upgrade their airport and enhance air connectivity, the source said.
"When you look at other North-East States such as Assam and Meghalaya, their Governments are highly proactive in upgrading connectivity and continuously working to enhance infrastructure. They make every effort to seize available flight opportunities and bring more airlines and routes to their States," said the source.
Even now, the Meghalaya Government is actively engaging with various agencies to introduce international flights and increase flight frequencies.
Similarly, the Assam Government is consistently pushing to expand and strengthen air connectivity across the State. "Sadly,  the same level of initiative is missing in Manipur," added the source.
Notably, Guwahati’s Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport (LGBIA) has been expanded and upgraded with a new terminal--Terminal-2, which has bagged the International Architectural Award 2025.
The new Terminal-2 at the LGBIA is projected to handle over 1.3 crore passengers annually, positioning Guwahati as a regional aviation hub.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has reportedly invited Prime Minister Narendra Modi to inaugurate the new terminal during their meeting in Delhi yesterday.
Between April and June 2025, the LGBIA handled 12,470 flights and 1.81 million passengers.
Regarding the Umroi Airport in Meghalaya, the State's Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma had recently said that work worth over Rs 500 crore, including a 550-metre runway extension and terminal upgrades would commence in October 2025.
The project is expected to be completed within 15 months. The CM had earlier stated that Shillong could soon welcome larger aircraft like Airbus after the expansion.
Meanwhile, the highly placed source in the airport said Manipur is the gateway to the East and therefore, enhancing its connectivity would  ease travel, boost tourism and improve the economy.
Works to expand and upgrade the Imphal International Airport must be taken up swiftly to make it truly an international airport.
The State Government and relevant authorities must therefore push for opening more routes and increasing the number of flights to enhance connectivity and also bring down the price, said the source.