For the first time in five years, direct air connections between India and China are set to resume later this month, marking a significant thaw in relations between the two Asian giants.
India’s largest airline, IndiGo, announced on Friday that it will begin daily non-stop flights between Calcutta and Guangzhou starting October 26. A second route from New Delhi to a Chinese city, yet to be officially confirmed, is also being planned.
According to dw.com, “The agreement was reached following discussions between civil aviation authorities of both countries. In a statement on Thursday, the Indian government said: “This agreement… will further facilitate people-to-people contact between India and China, contributing towards the gradual normalization of bilateral exchanges.”
The resumption of flights comes on the heels of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Shanghai in late August, his first trip to China in seven years. Standing alongside Chinese President Xi Jinping, Modi described India and China as “development partners, not rivals.”
Relations between the two neighbors have been strained since 2020, when a violent clash between Indian and Chinese troops along the disputed Himalayan border left 20 Indian soldiers and four Chinese soldiers dead. The incident plunged bilateral ties to their lowest point in decades.
Direct flights, already halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic, were never restored — until now. Analysts say the recent thaw may also be linked to U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff threats against both Beijing and New Delhi, which have prompted closer coordination between the two Asian powers.
In a sign of easing tensions, Beijing in June allowed Indian pilgrims to travel once again to Mount Kailash in Tibet, a sacred site for Hindus and Buddhists, after a four-year suspension.
For IndiGo, the new routes offer opportunities beyond passenger travel. The airline said its return to China would help reestablish “avenues for cross-border trade and strategic business partnerships” while also boosting tourism flows between the two nations.
With bookings for the Calcutta–Guangzhou route now open, aviation observers say the resumption of flights could be the clearest indication yet that New Delhi and Beijing are inching toward a cautious normalization of ties.
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