The long wait for the people of the Barak Valley region will ultimately end as Silchar is getting connected by Air directly with Imphal in Manipur, Aizawl in Mizoram, and Dimapur in Nagaland from this month’s end. The Imphal-Silchar direct flight under UDAN 2.0 scheme was supposed to start on 30th October as declared by Govt run Alliance Air but without any intimation, it didn’t start the operation which led to disappointment and media reporting the same.

The ruling political establishment was also redfaced as this is a long standing demand of the people looking into the harassment and difficulties faced particularly the students’ community and parents. Silchar is one of the educational hubs of the NE region but the place is landlocked due to neighbouring Bangladesh and poor road infrastructure with adjoining states. 

The Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya M. Scindia gave the good news through his social media handle declaring that Imphal-Silchar, Silchar-Imphal Alliance Air service is going to start on 25th November. It is known now that on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday flight no. 9I743 will depart from Imphal at 12:15 PM and will reach Silchar at 13:05 PM. Flight no. 9I744 will depart from Silchar at 13:25 pm and will reach Imphal at 14:10 pm. With this flight, Silchar would get connectivity to Aizawl via Imphal.

On Tuesday Thursday and Sunday flight no. 9I743 will depart from Imphal at 10:05 AM and will reach Silchar at 10:45 AM.  Flight no. 9I744 will depart from Silchar at 11:15 AM and will reach Imphal at 11:55 pm. With this flight, Silchar would get connectivity to Dimapur via Imphal.

The Chief Minister of Manipur had reacted to this news and had been pushing for this service. On his social media handle, N. Biren Singh thanked the Prime Minister and Civil Aviation Minister. He stated ‘Happy to share that the direct flights between Silchar & Imphal will be launched on 25th November to further enhance the connectivity in the NE region.’