In a startling revelation, the cost of flying from Imphal to Guwahati—barely 500 kilometres away—has surged higher than a flight to Delhi, which lies over 2,400 kilometres distant.

According to various travel apps like MakeMyTrip, EaseMyTrip shows that an IndiGo flight from Imphal to Guwahati on 5th November costs around ₹14,400 while an Imphal–Delhi ticket is priced at around ₹8800. Despite the Delhi route taking almost three hours and Guwahati just 35–45 minutes, passengers are forced to pay more for the shorter journey.

With national highways blocked for months and surface travel unsafe, air routes have become Manipur’s only lifeline. Yet, authorities—both state and central—remain silent as airfare prices soar unchecked, leaving many Manipuris trapped within the state or unable to return home.

Observers and travellers alike view this as more than a market anomaly. The disparity, they say, exposes systemic neglect and economic manipulation, where the government’s failure to regulate fares or restore safe highways has turned mobility into a privilege of the wealthy.

For Manipur, a landlocked region already torn by conflict, exorbitant airfares represent not just financial strain but a deeper form of economic oppression. As one observer noted, “Isolation is no longer enforced by bullets, but by bills.”