China and India Resume Direct Flights After Five-Year Hiatus

China and India resumed direct commercial flights on Sunday for the first time in five years, signaling a cautious step toward restoring ties strained by the 2020 Galwan Valley clash. IndiGo launched a daily Kolkata–Guangzhou route, with a Shanghai–New Delhi route starting November 9, aimed at boosting people-to-people contact and bilateral exchanges.

China and India have resumed direct commercial flights on Sunday, marking the first time in five years that such air travel has been operational between the two countries. The move represents a cautious but meaningful step toward rebuilding bilateral ties that were severely strained following a deadly border clash in 2020.

The first flight, operated by IndiGo, India’s largest airline, departed from Kolkata’s Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport and landed in Guangzhou, carrying 176 passengers. This flight inaugurates a new daily non-stop route between the two cities, facilitating easier travel for business, tourism, and personal visits. A second route, linking Shanghai and New Delhi, is scheduled to begin on November 9, operating three times a week. Officials from both countries highlighted that these routes will enhance connectivity and foster “people-to-people contact,” while supporting the gradual normalization of diplomatic and economic exchanges.

Air travel between China and India was suspended in early 2020 at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, as both countries imposed strict restrictions to contain the virus. The suspension was further prolonged after a deadly clash erupted in June 2020 in the Galwan Valley along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), where 20 Indian soldiers and an unspecified number of Chinese troops lost their lives. The incident severely strained relations, leading to a halt in trade discussions, diplomatic meetings, and cross-border travel.

Since then, relations between the two Asian giants have improved incrementally. An agreement reached in October 2024 aimed at reducing tensions along the LAC has created an environment where cautious steps toward normalization, such as resuming flights, could be implemented. Analysts view the resumption of direct air links as a symbolic gesture, demonstrating a willingness on both sides to rebuild trust and restore routine interactions that had been disrupted for half a decade.

The restoration of air travel is expected to benefit commerce, tourism, and cultural exchanges, potentially easing long-standing mistrust between the two countries. While the reopening of flights does not erase the complex geopolitical issues along the border, it is being seen as an important milestone in gradually returning bilateral relations to a more stable and cooperative trajectory.