GUWAHATI: Flight operations at the Bir Tikendrajit International Airport in Manipur capital Imphal were suspended for close to four hours on Sunday after an unidentified object was found hovering above it.
The object was detected at 2:30 pm. As it kept flying, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), Indian Air Force (IAF) and other competent authorities were alerted. Eventually, around 4:30 pm, the object flew away.
The operation of flights resumed around 6:20 pm after the airport had received clearance from DGCA as well as IAF.
Two flights were diverted while three departing flights were delayed due to the sighting of the mysterious object.
Chipemmi Keishing, who is the airport’s director, told this newspaper that everyone at the airport could see the object hovering above.
“We don’t know whether it was a drone, UFO (unidentified flying object) or something else,” Keishing said.
“As per the standard operating procedure, flight operation has to be stopped if any unidentified object is seen flying around an airport. So, all arrivals and departures (incoming and outgoing flights) were closed,” he said.
The airport director also said that IAF had scanned the airspace of the airport and gave clearance. After clearance was also received from DGCA, the operation of flights resumed, Keishing said.
He added that the object was flying at a high altitude and it was not within shooting range from the ground.