The full-service flights operated by Air India from Imphal Airport have been discontinued. The low-cost subsidiary, Air India Express, will stay in business.

The action is a component of the Tata Group’s plan to optimize services at regional airports.

Air India stopped operating full-service carriers from Agartala, and with effect from Sunday, it has also stopped operating from Bir Tikendrajit International Airport in Imphal. The airline, which is owned by the Tata Group, made the change as part of a strategic reorganization to concentrate more on Air India Express, its low-cost affiliate.

While Air India has ceased its premium services from Imphal, Air India Express will continue to be connected to its Boeing 737 aircraft, according to a senior official from the Airports Authority of India (AAI). “The airline’s long-term restructuring plan following its acquisition by the Tata Group in January 2022 includes the full-service exit,” the official stated.

About three months ago, the airline pulled its full-service carrier from Maharaja Bir Bikram (MBB) Airport in Agartala. After the Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport in Guwahati, MBB Airport is the second busiest in the Northeast.

The AAI guaranteed that despite these modifications, Air India Express will continue to operate, maintaining air connectivity in the area. Imphal is an important part of the region’s aviation network and, like Guwahati, has international airport status.

As a result of the region’s expanding infrastructure, the Northeast currently has 17 airports in operation, including important ones in Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Tripura, Manipur, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Mizoram, and Sikkim.

The move from full-service to low-cost models is in line with larger initiatives to streamline operations in smaller domestic airports while maintaining connection, the AAI stressed.