IMPHAL, Aug 21 - The Union Civil Aviation Ministry has approved of starting international flights between Imphal and Mandalay (Myanmar), Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh disclosed today.
Speaking at a function to relaunch the Manipur Helicopter Service at the Imphal International Airport near here, the Chief Minister stated that the Central authorities has asked for exploring airlines interested in operating under the sector.
Earlier, the Myanmar-based private airline, Air KBZ, expressed its willingness to operate an international flight service between Imphal and Mandalay. Air KBZ has already signed an MoU with the Imphal-based KB Enterprises in June last.
Biren Singh also said that Manipur had been demanding better connectivity between Imphal and Delhi via Aizawl, Agartala and Silchar so that one can fly to Delhi and return on the same day. Besides, the Imphal-Silchar flight service will also be reintroduced soon, he said.
Steps are also on for introducing an Imphal-Dibrugarh flight service. He said that a sum of Rs 600 crore would be spent on constructing a new runway at the Imphal International Airport.
On the relaunching of the chopper service in the State, the Chief Minister said that it would help needy people living in remote areas.
�We are also planning to introduce a helicopter service from Imphal to Parbung and Thanlon (in southern Manipur) under the Centre�s UDAN-2 (Ude Desh Ka Aam Naagrik) scheme soon,� Biren Singh said. A sightseeing helicopter service will also be introduced for tourists, he added.
As of now, the Mumbai-based Global Vectra Helicorp Limited is providing the helicopter service between Imphal-Jiribam, Imphal-Moreh and Imphal-Tamenglong with an eight-seater chopper. The helicopter service between Imphal-Jiribam-Imphal will operate daily except on Sundays and public holidays. The flying time is around 30-40 minutes. Passenger service vehicles take nearly eight hours to reach Imphal from Jiribam. The service for Tamenglong will be available on Tuesdays and Thursdays, while for Moreh, it will be available on Fridays and Saturdays.
Deputy Chief Minister Y Joykumar, other ministers, MLAs, State Chief Secretary and top officials of the Transport Department attended the function.
