India and China to Resume Direct Flights After Five-Year Suspension

After a five-year suspension, India and China are set to resume direct commercial flights by late October 2025, marking a significant step toward normalizing bilateral relations. The suspension, initiated in early 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and escalating border tensions, had disrupted business, tourism, and academic exchanges between the two nations.

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) of India announced that, following extensive technical-level discussions between the civil aviation authorities of both countries, an agreement has been reached to restart direct air services connecting designated points in India and China. The resumption is scheduled to align with the winter season schedule and is subject to the commercial decisions of the designated carriers and the fulfillment of all operational criteria.

IndiGo, India's largest airline, has confirmed plans to restart daily non-stop flights from Kolkata to Guangzhou starting October 26, 2025. The airline also intends to introduce direct flights between Delhi and Guangzhou shortly thereafter, pending regulatory approvals. China Eastern Airlines will resume direct flights between Shanghai and Delhi beginning November 9, 2025, operating on Wednesdays, Saturdays, and Sundays.

The suspension of direct flights began in early 2020 following a deadly military clash along the Himalayan border, which led to strained diplomatic relations and a freeze on direct commercial flights. The recent agreement to resume flights follows a diplomatic thaw, highlighted by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to China in September 2025 for a regional security forum.

The resumption of direct flights is expected to facilitate people-to-people contact, boost trade relations, and contribute to the gradual normalization of bilateral exchanges between India and China. This development follows a diplomatic thaw, highlighted by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to China in September 2025 for a regional security forum, where both sides discussed improving trade relations and addressing concerns about India's growing trade deficit with China.

The resumption of direct flights between India and China marks a pivotal moment in the efforts to rebuild and strengthen bilateral relations, with far-reaching implications for diplomacy, trade, and regional stability.