Normal flight services were affected due to the sighting of an unidentified flying object (UFO) at Manipur’s Imphal International Airport on Sunday afternoon. The officers provided this information. Two flights were diverted, and three others were delayed. Services became normal after about three hours.
Airport director Chipemmi Keishing said: “Due to the sighting of an unidentified flying object within the Imphal controlled airspace, two flights have been diverted, and three departing flights have been delayed. “Flight operations will start after getting approval from the competent authority.”
An Air Traffic Control (ATC) official said he received a message from CISF at 2.30 pm informing him that a UFO had been detected near the airport.
“By 4 pm, the UFO was visible to the naked eye, moving west of the airfield,” the official said. The diverted flights included an IndiGo flight from Kolkata, initially instructed to “hold overhead” and diverted to Guwahati after 25 minutes.
However, the delayed flights departed from Imphal airport after getting approval about three hours late. The official said the Eastern Command of the Indian Air Force based in Shillong has been informed about the incident. Manipur shares borders with Nagaland, Mizoram and Assam and an international border with Myanmar in the east.
