New Delhi: After a gap of more than five years, direct passenger flights between India and China are set to resume from October 26, marking a significant step toward normalising bilateral relations that had been strained since the Galwan Valley clash in 2020.
Low-cost carrier IndiGo announced on Thursday that it will restart daily nonstop flights between Kolkata and Guangzhou from October 26. The announcement came hours after the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) confirmed that direct air connectivity between the two countries would resume later this month.
Direct flights between India and China were suspended in early 2020 amid the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, and relations between the two countries further soured following the June 2020 border conflict in Galwan. Even after India resumed scheduled international flights in 2022, services to China remained halted.
According to aviation industry officials, Air India is also preparing to resume direct flights by the end of this year, likely starting with a Delhi–Shanghai service.
In a statement, the MEA said civil aviation authorities of both nations held technical-level discussions earlier this year to explore the revival of direct connectivity and review the air services agreement.
“It has now been agreed that direct air services connecting designated points in India and China can resume by late October, in line with the winter schedule, subject to commercial decisions by the designated carriers and compliance with operational criteria,” the MEA said.
The ministry added that the agreement will help enhance people-to-people exchanges and contribute to the gradual normalisation of bilateral engagement.
IndiGo said its Kolkata–Guangzhou route will be operated daily using Airbus A320neo aircraft. Bookings for the route will open on October 3, and the airline is also exploring a Delhi–Guangzhou service, subject to regulatory clearance.
“Our resumption of daily, non-stop flights between India and mainland China will once again allow seamless movement of people, goods, and ideas, while strengthening bilateral ties,” said Pieter Elbers, Chief Executive Officer of IndiGo.
The airline currently operates 1,904 international flights per week, up 15.7% from the same period last year, according to aviation analytics firm Cirium. Before the pandemic, IndiGo operated routes including Delhi–Chengdu, Kolkata–Guangzhou, and Kolkata–Yangon, all of which were suspended in early 2020.
The resumption of direct flights comes amid a visible thaw in India-China relations in recent months. In August–September, Prime Minister Narendra Modi made his first visit to China in seven years to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit, where he met President Xi Jinping in Tianjin.
Analysts say the easing of tensions is part of a gradual diplomatic reset following years of strain since 2020, influenced by both geopolitical factors and economic recalibrations.