Imphal, August 25: MP Th Chaoba has strongly protested the decision of the Indian Airlines authority to handover the operation of the Airlines (ground staff management) at Imphal to private handling agents.

Outlining five points why the operation should not be handed to the handling agents, the MP in a letter to the Union Civil Aviation Minister, Shahnawaj Hussain said that Indian Airlines has been operating at Imphal for over 40 years now and added that the window to the people of Manipur to keep in touch with the outside world.

At the moment, Indian Airlines handles eight flights a week, informed the MP and added that Imphal is the second largest airport in the Northeastern region after Guwahati.

Imphal Airport also has all the required facilities to be upgraded to an international airport in the near future.

The MP also reminded the Civil Aviation Minister that only two airports, Aizawl and Tezpur in the Northeast have handling agents.

These two places have only three flights a week, said the letter and questioned why Imphal has been picked while others like Silchar, Agartala and Dibrugarh are being spared.

On the high cost of running the Indian Airlines office in Imphal, Th Chaoba said that under the pretext of the law and order situation 12 officials including one officer from Kolkata are deputed to Imphal on temporary basis thereby incurring an expenditure of approximately of Rs 1,65,000 per month.

Such practice is totally unjustified, contended Chaoba and added that this is not resorted to by other Central Governments, establishment and institutes based in Manipur.

Moreover, in places like Jammu and Kashmir where militancy is at its peak, Indian Airlines still operate through its own staff.

Chaoba further said that there are about 25 regular local staff including two officers and some casuals on contract basis who are capable of handling the commercial management of Indian Airlines.