NEW DELHI - India has resumed direct flights to China after nearly a five-year hiatus, with the first flight of Indian airline IndiGo, Asia's second-largest and one of the world's largest airlines, already departed from the Indian city of Kolkata and landed in China's Guangzhou on Sunday, according to data on the Indian carrier's website.
The first flight carried 176 passengers on board. IndiGo is also expected to launch flights from November 10 from the Indian capital of New Delhi to Guangzhou, reported Spuntik/RIA Novosti.
China Eastern Airlines, one of China's major airlines, will also resume flights from Shanghai to New Delhi from Nov 9. The company will operate three flights per week - on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays, using an A330-200 aircraft.
Direct flights between India and China were suspended during the pandemic, forcing travelers to take routes through Singapore and Hong Kong.
The cooling of relations between India and China also affected air traffic following a series of incidents in the Ladakh region in May 2020, when clashes broke out between Chinese and Indian troops near the Galwan River.
In late October 2024, New Delhi and Beijing reached an agreement on the rules of patrolling along the Line of Actual Control in Ladakh.
The Indian agency Ani reported later, citing official military sources, that India and China had completed the withdrawal of troops from the region.
In early October 2025, the Indian Ministry of Civil Aviation said it would resume direct flights by the end of the month following continuous technical consultations between the civil aviation authorities of both countries, which is considered a sign towards normalising bilateral relations. - BERNAMA-SPUTNIK/RIA NOVOSTI