Direct flights restart between India, China after five-year suspension

IndiGo to start daily Kolkata-Guangzhou flights Oct 26, with New Delhi-China route planned soon

India and China will restart direct flights between designated cities this month, ending a suspension of more than five years, in a move that signals a cautious easing of bilateral tensions, India’s foreign ministry said on Thursday.

There have been no direct flights between the two countries since 2020, even though China remains India’s biggest bilateral trade partner.

India’s largest carrier IndiGo said it would begin daily non-stop flights between Kolkata and Guangzhou on October 26. The airline also plans to launch a route connecting New Delhi with the Chinese city.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited China a month ago for the first time in seven years to attend a meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) regional security bloc.

During talks, Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed that India and China were development partners, not rivals, and discussed ways to strengthen trade ties amid global tariff uncertainty.

Modi also conveyed India’s commitment to improving ties while raising concerns about the nearly $99.2 billion trade deficit with China. He emphasised the importance of maintaining peace and stability along their disputed border, where a clash in 2020 triggered a five-year military standoff.