Unidentified flying object spotted over Imphal airport: What we know so far

Air traffic controllers were in a tizzy on Sunday when they spotted an unidentified flying object (UFO) close to the runaway at Manipur’s Imphal International Airport, which caused several flights to be abruptly diverted and delayed, according to officials. At least two IndiGo flights were diverted while three other flights were delayed for over three hours after the authorities immediately closed the “controlled airspace.” The unidentified object was spotted hovering high above Bir Tekendrajit International Airport in Imphal. The UFO Imphal air traffic control (ATC) received an alert from the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) control room reporting the sighting of an unidentified flying object just over the ATC tower, at 2.30 pm. The white coloured object was visible from the terrace of the ATC tower, and individuals on the ground, including airline and CISF personnel, saw it as well. According to a NDTV report, the unnamed object flew over the terminal building, 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 disappearing. [caption id=“attachment_13405912” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] The white coloured object was visible from the terrace of the ATC tower, and individuals on the ground, including airline and CISF personnel, saw it as well. Image Courtesy: @mss_meitei/X[/caption] The airport authorities immediately closed the “controlled airspace” in Manipur’s capital Imphal and stopped all flight operations. The airspace closure affected nearly 1,000 travellers. Flights delayed for three hours As the authorities were trying to understand what’s going on, an IndiGo A320 carrying 173 passengers from Kolkata to Imphal was instructed to maintain a holding pattern until the ATC received clearance from the security agencies. The IndiGo flight was in a holding pattern for 25 minutes before being redirected to Guwahati, Assam, at 3.03 pm. At 4.05 pm, another IndiGo A320 flight from Delhi to Imphal with 183 passengers on board was diverted to Kolkata. While the airspace was closed, three flights — two Air India and one Indigo — remained parked on the apron. Imphal airport director Chipemmi Keishing accepted the presence of the drone in a statement. According to the officer, all three flights took off after “competent authority” granted security clearance. Worried passengers “I had no idea what was going on. I was informed that the flight could not take off because there was some kind of object hovering in the sky, an unmanned aerial vehicle of some sort. Officials of the flight operator, however, were not so sure what the object was,” Bhaskar Salam, a passenger who was supposed to fly to Bengaluru, told Indian Express. [caption id=“attachment_13405922” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] The airspace closure affected nearly 1,000 travellers. Image Courtesy: @virbhadrayumnam/X[/caption] Many passengers told NDTV that they had remained inside the airport and some inside the aircraft for more than three hours, beginning at 3 pm and ending at 6.15 pm. “Boarding was completed by 3 pm, but we didn’t get take-off clearance until 6.10 pm. Passengers were worried and some elderly people anxious, but everyone was extremely cooperative and patient,” a woman who boarded an Air India flight to Delhi told NDTV on phone. Another passenger on the Delhi-bound flight reported that they were offered food inside the plane before takeoff because they had been seated for a long period. The Indian Air Force and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation have begun a joint investigation to learn more about the incident. According to the official, the Indian Air Force Eastern Command in Shillong was informed of the development. Manipur shares an international border with Myanmar to the east, as well as borders with Nagaland, Mizoram, and Assam. With inputs from PTI