India and China to Resume Direct Flights After Five Years

India and China will resume direct flights at the end of October, with IndiGo starting daily Calcutta–Guangzhou services and planning a New Delhi route. The move follows Modi’s China visit and aims to restore trade, tourism, and ties after the 2020 border clash and pandemic suspensions.

Direct flights between India and China, the two most populous countries in the world, are set to resume at the end of October, marking the first time such services have operated in five years. This development is considered a significant step toward restoring normalcy in relations between the two nations, which have been strained due to both border tensions and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

India's leading airline, IndiGo, announced that it will begin offering daily non-stop flights connecting Calcutta and Guangzhou starting on October 26. In addition to this route, the airline plans to launch a second connection from New Delhi, the capital of India, to a Chinese city that has not yet been officially confirmed. These renewed air services are expected to enhance trade, tourism, and people-to-people interactions between the two countries.

An official statement from the Indian government confirmed that civil aviation authorities from both nations have agreed to restart direct air services by late October. The statement emphasized that this agreement would facilitate closer engagement between citizens, businesses, and cultural institutions and contribute to the gradual normalization of bilateral exchanges.

The announcement follows Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Shanghai at the end of August, his first trip to China in seven years. During this visit, Modi met with Chinese Premier Xi Jinping, and both leaders emphasized that India and China are development partners rather than rivals. The visit highlighted a mutual interest in moving beyond past tensions and strengthening economic, diplomatic, and cultural ties.

IndiGo, while opening bookings for its China flights, said the resumption of services would create new avenues for cross-border trade, strategic business collaborations, and tourism, benefiting both countries. The airline described the move as an important step toward reconnecting markets, communities, and travelers who have faced restrictions for several years.

Relations between India and China had deteriorated sharply in 2020 following a violent clash between troops from the two countries along a disputed border in the Himalayan region. The confrontation resulted in the deaths of four Chinese soldiers and twenty Indian soldiers, marking the deadliest incident between the nations in decades. Direct flights were suspended during the COVID-19 pandemic and had not resumed since. Observers suggest that recent improvements in relations may have been influenced, in part, by economic pressures, including tariff threats imposed by the United States during that period.

Earlier this year, China also allowed Indian pilgrims to visit Mount Kailash in Tibet, a sacred site for both Hindus and Buddhists, for the first time since the 2020 border clashes. The reopening of air travel and pilgrimage access reflects a broader effort by both governments to gradually restore diplomatic, cultural, and economic ties after years of tension.