By Mewati Sitaram
After a five-year gap, Indian travellers finally have reason to cheer as direct connectivity between India and China is set to resume. IndiGo will be the first airline to restart operations, launching flights between Kolkata and Guangzhou from October 26, 2025, followed by a Delhi–Guangzhou service commencing on November 10. Soon after, China Eastern Airlines will begin direct flights between Shanghai and Delhi from November 9, 2025, operating thrice weekly — on Wednesdays, Saturdays, and Sundays — with Airbus A330 aircraft. Direct air services were halted in 2020 due to the COVID-19 outbreak and rising border tensions.
The renewed aviation corridor is a direct outcome of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to China in August 2025 — his first in more than seven years — to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit. The visit served as a diplomatic icebreaker, with both sides signalling a willingness to recalibrate relations through enhanced trade, mobility, and cultural engagement. Air India is also expected to revive its China operations by the end of the year, further expanding route options for travellers and boosting bilateral travel and business.
A spokesperson from the Chinese Embassy in India said, “Direct flights between China and India will resume by the end of October 2025. This development reflects the sincere commitment of both countries to implement the important consensus reached between President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Narendra Modi during their meeting in Tianjin on August 31. The resumption of air connectivity will further boost people-to-people exchanges between the two nations, which together account for over 2.8 billion people.
“China is prepared to work with India to view and manage bilateral ties from a strategic and long-term perspective, deepen good-neighbourly friendship, support each other’s growth, and foster a cooperative partnership symbolising the harmonious rhythm of the dragon and the elephant — delivering greater tangible outcomes for both peoples and contributing to peace and prosperity across Asia and beyond.”
Editor in Chief : Mewati SItaram
