--- iata: IMF name: Bir Tikendrajit International Airport city: Imphal country: India lastUpdated: '2026-09-09' officialWebsite: 'https://www.aai.aero/en/airports/imphal' sources: - 'https://www.aai.aero/en/airports/imphal' - 'https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bir_Tikendrajit_International_Airport' - 'https://aim-india.aai.aero/eaip-v2-02-2024/eAIP/IN-AD%202.1VEIM-en-GB.html' - >- https://web.archive.org/web/20260425035010/https://www.aai.aero/sites/default/files/traffic-news/Mar2k26Annex3.pdf - >- https://web.archive.org/web/20260428091121/https://www.aai.aero/sites/default/files/traffic-news/Mar2k26Annex2.pdf - >- https://web.archive.org/web/20260424120057/https://www.aai.aero/sites/default/files/traffic-news/Mar2k26Annex4.pdf - >- https://www.thesangaiexpress.com/Encyc/2026/3/29/by-our-staff-reporter-imphal-mar-29-digi-yatra-high-speed-wi-fi-flybrary-kids-zone-avsar-airport-as-venue-for-.html - >- https://www.imphaltimes.com/news/acs-anurag-bajpai-reviews-imphal-airport-terminal-project-december-2026-deadline-reiterated/ - 'https://www.prioritypass.com/lounges/india' - 'https://www.goindigo.in/airport-directory/india/imphal-imf.html' quickFacts: - >- Bir Tikendrajit International Airport (IATA IMF / ICAO VEIM), still widely called Imphal Airport / Tulihal Airport, is Manipur’s main civil passenger gateway and, on AAI FY 2025–26 annex traffic, the third-busiest airport in North-East India after Guwahati (GAU) and Agartala (IXA). The AAI campus sits at Tulihal about 7–8 km south of Imphal city centre (airline / Wikipedia directories). Owner is the Government of Manipur; operator is the Airports Authority of India (AAI). Official passenger page pattern: https://www.aai.aero/en/airports/imphal. Screenshot IMF (VEIM) ≠ GAU (Guwahati) ≠ IXA (Agartala) ≠ AJL (Aizawl) ≠ IXS (Silchar) ≠ DIB (Dibrugarh) ≠ CCU (Kolkata) — the wrong North-East / Bengal IATA is a multi-hour road or extra flight day, not an airside hop. This is a pure AAI public civil passenger field (WWII RAF history only) — not a passenger enclave on an active naval or air-force base. - >- One live passenger terminal handles all scheduled flows today. Public carrier directories (e.g. IndiGo) still describe a compact hall with about 10 check-in counters on the existing campus. A New Integrated Terminal Building (NITB) plus ATC / apron works — variously described in AAI / state coverage as roughly 22,000–28,125 m² with multi-MPPA design targets — remains under construction. Mid-2026 Manipur ACS / AAI reviews put physical progress around 50% with a 31 Dec 2026 completion push after conflict-era delays — treat that hall as a worksite, not today’s check-in map. Do not invent a second live passenger campus from NITB CGI or “international ready” brochure language. - >- Traffic (AAI Mar2k26 Annex II–IV PDFs for FY 2025–26 / 1 Apr 2025–31 Mar 2026, as archived): 1,366,765 passengers (−2.8%), 10,542 aircraft movements (−14.9%), and 6,271.9 t cargo (+1.2%). Prefer the annex PDFs when auditing. International passenger columns in the same annexes print zeros for Imphal — scheduled metal remains domestic; trust the ticket / FIDS for any thin charter experiment. - >- Airfield (Wikipedia / India eAIP VEIM summaries): single runway 04/22 — 2,746 m asphalt; aerodrome elevation about 774 m / 2,540 ft. DigiYatra was inaugurated at Imphal on 29 March 2026 (Sangai Express / Union Civil Aviation minister virtual rollout with high-speed Wi-Fi, Flybrary, kids zone, and AVSAR artisan stalls). Still confirm the live DigiYatra app and terminal signage on your travel day; keep CISF document queues as Plan B. - >- Lounges (live Priority Pass India directory, checked Sep 2026): no Imphal / Tulihal / Bir Tikendrajit soft-lounge pin on the national India index — do not invent Plaza Premium / Primus / Travel Club / Airr / Encalm soft pins from aggregator mirrors. Airline CIP / paid walk-up rooms, if any desk still sells them, are not Priority Pass entitlements. - >- Ground: prepaid taxi / signed app cabs remain Plan A for the short Tulihal run into Imphal city / Thangal Bazar / Kangla / Imphal Railway Station area (often ~20–40 minutes in normal traffic; confirm the board / app quote). There is no passenger rail or metro platform inside the terminal. Non-local Indian travellers normally need a Manipur Inner Line Permit (ILP) — apply online before travel or use the on-arrival ILP counter when it is staffed; foreigners should confirm current Protected / Restricted Area permit rules before they fly. Late nights default to prepaid / app cabs. GAU and CCU remain the usual diversion / alternate hubs when weather or schedule shocks constrain the single strip — those are separate airports, not airside hops. bentoTips: - label: Timing title: 'Compact live hall — DigiYatra helps, one strip still needs buffers' detail: >- IMF’s live passenger hall is easy to read, but the field remains a single-runway AAI station with IndiGo / Air India Express / Alliance Air banks, North-East weather, and occasional highway / security friction on the city side. DigiYatra went live with a 29 Mar 2026 inauguration — confirm the app lists IMF and the e-gates are staffed before you skip the manual CISF line. Domestic ~2 hours early is the sane default. There is no live Priority Pass soft lounge to absorb a long hold. summary: >- Short city hop and DigiYatra help; one runway and no PP lounge still need real buffers. category: timing - label: Terminal title: Live older hall only — NITB is still a Dec 2026 worksite detail: >- Screenshot IMF ≠ GAU ≠ IXA ≠ AJL ≠ IXS ≠ DIB ≠ CCU before the car leaves Imphal / Thoubal / Churachandpur / Moreh. All scheduled passengers clear the existing AAI terminal (~10 check-in counters on IndiGo’s public directory). The New Integrated Terminal Building (~22–28k m² class in public project notes; ~50% mid-2026; 31 Dec 2026 target) is not today’s boarding map. Live Priority Pass soft directory = none. summary: Single live passenger hall; NITB unfinished; zero live PP lounges. category: terminal - label: Food title: Landside sealed water is Plan A — no PP soft pour detail: >- Compact Tier-2 Indian F&B — café / snack counters, not a mall. Buy sealed water and snacks landside before CISF; airside café markup is the usual tax. Ignore Plaza Premium / Primus / Travel Club / Airr inventions — Priority Pass India’s live index has no Imphal pin. summary: No live PP soft room; landside bottles beat airside pricing. category: food - label: Access title: Prepaid taxi Plan A — ILP before the kerb argument detail: >- Use official prepaid taxi counters in arrivals or signed Ola / Uber pickup for the Tulihal run into city markets / Kangla / hotel belt (often ~20–40 minutes). Carry a valid Manipur ILP if you are a non-local Indian traveller — online issuance before departure is cleaner than hoping the airport counter is open and short. There is no passenger metro or rail platform inside the terminal. summary: 'Short road hop; ILP is a Manipur entry rule, not an airport optional.' category: status lounges: [] waterOptions: - kind: purchase name: Landside sealed water (check-in / departures hall) zone: landside price: >- Typical Indian-airport sealed-bottle markup — confirm shelf tag (often roughly ₹40–80) summary: >- Best default hydration play — buy sealed water landside before CISF so you are not hostage to airside café pricing after the Tulihal road transfer. location: >- Convenience and café kiosks in the live terminal departures / check-in hall before security terminal: Live Terminal landside isBestValue: true - kind: purchase name: Airside retail water zone: airside price: Higher than landside — confirm shelf tag summary: >- Markup backup once you are through security; fine for a top-up, poor as Plan A. There is no Priority Pass soft lounge pouring free water here. location: Post-security café and retail units toward domestic gates terminal: Live Terminal airside airportistScore: 6 slug: imf region: Asia-Pacific --- > Markdown for [/airports/imf](/airports/imf). Append `.md` to any page URL (or send `Accept: text/markdown`) for an agent-readable copy. - [HTML page](/airports/imf) - [Lounge directory](/airports/imf/lounges.md) - [Sitemap](/sitemap.md) # Bir Tikendrajit International Airport (IMF) Imphal, India · Asia-Pacific AAI Manipur capital gateway at Tulihal — DigiYatra live since Mar 2026, IndiGo-shaped domestic banks, no Priority Pass soft lounge, and a short prepaid-taxi hop while the new integrated terminal finishes ## Airportist Score **6.0 / 10** Weighted sum of the six published categories (no holistic fudge). - Ease of use (25%): 7.4 — Wayfinding, security wait, and layout. - Comfort & amenities (20%): 6.0 — Seating, Wi-Fi, cleanliness, and quiet. - Food & retail (15%): 5.4 — Food and retail quality and variety. - Ground access (15%): 7.6 — Transit, taxi, and parking to the city. - Reliability (15%): 5.6 — Delays, cancellations, and weather resilience. - Lounges (10%): 2.0 — Worth-it density and access quality. ## At a glance - Passengers: 1.37M - Terminals: 1 - Typical security: 22 min - On-time: 78% - Disruption: minor ## Best for - Travellers bound for Imphal / Manipur who need the state’s only scheduled commercial passenger airport - Domestic connectors on IndiGo / Air India Express / Alliance Air banks via GAU / CCU / DEL - Passengers who can use DigiYatra and accept a compact live hall instead of waiting for the unfinished NITB ## Watch out for - No live Priority Pass soft lounge — ignore aggregator Plaza / Primus inventions - New Integrated Terminal Building still under construction (~50% mid-2026; 31 Dec 2026 target) — not today’s check-in map - Manipur Inner Line Permit required for most non-local Indian travellers — sort it before landside exit - Single runway 04/22 — monsoon / North-East weather and city-side security friction still need buffers ## More intel - [Lounge directory](/airports/imf/lounges.md) (free) - [Getting there](/airports/imf/getting-there.md) (free) - [Amenities](/airports/imf/amenities.md) - [Traveler tips](/airports/imf/tips.md) - [Water](/airports/imf/water.md) - [Full guide](/airports/imf/guide.md) - [Disruptions](/airports/imf/disruptions.md) - [Reviews](/airports/imf/reviews.md)