Unidentified Flying Object Stalls Flight Operations at Imphal Airport for 3 Hours!

Imphal: Flight operations were halted for around three hours at the Bir Tikendrajit International Airport in Manipur’s capital Imphal on Sunday afternoon following appearance of an unidentified flying object.

NDTV reports quoting sources in the Airports Authority of India (AAI) that at 2.30 pm on Sunday, the Imphal air traffic control (ATC) got a call from the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) control room that an unidentified flying object was seen just above the ATC tower. The object was visible from the terrace of the ATC tower. This white coloured object was also seen by people on the ground including airline and CISF personnel.  It moved southwards above the ATC tower and remained stationary there for some time. Then it moved southwest of the runway, where it remained till 4.05 pm before it disappeared. Because of this unidentified flying object, the Kolkata-Imphal IndiGo Flight was diverted to Guwahati in Assam at 3.03 pm.

The Delhi-Imphal IndiGo Flight was diverted to Kolkata at 4.05 pm.

All airport operations were kept on hold till further notice and a NOTAM (Notice to Airmen) of airspace closure was flashed. At 3.55 pm, the Eastern Air Command began scanning the Imphal airspace for threats till 5.35 pm.

“IAF activated its air defence response mechanism based on visual inputs from Imphal airport. The small object was not seen thereafter,” the Eastern Air Command said in a post on X.

Flights resumed at the airport at 5.50 pm.