Direct flights between India and China will resume later this month, ending a five-year hiatus amid diplomatic tensions and the Covid-19 pandemic.
Low-cost operator IndiGo will launch flights between Kolkata and Guangzhou from 26 October, marking its return to Mainland China. The daily flights will be operated with Airbus A320neos, the airline states.
“IndiGo operated flights between India and China before the pandemic and has many of the necessary arrangements and processes already in place. The past experience and familiarity with local partners will enable IndiGo to resume these flights swiftly,” it adds.
IndiGo chief Pieter Elbers discloses that the carrier “is looking at introducing” more services into Mainland China in the near future.
The resumption of direct flights was first floated after India prime minister Narendra Modi met with Chinese ruler Xi Jinping in late-August.
Modi had said at the time that India views China not as a rival but as a development partner – an indication of thawing relations between the two countries.
India-China relations turned sour in 2020 following fatal border clashes along the Himalayan mountain range, which runs through both countries.
Direct flights between the two countries were also suspended in 2020 amid the Covid-19 outbreak.
Prior to that, IndiGo operated to Guangzhou and Chengdu, while national carrier Air India operated to Shanghai. Among the Chinese carriers, the state-owned ‘Big Three’ - Air China, China Eastern Airlines and China Southern Airlines - each operated to cities such as Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata.
Following the meeting of Modi and Xi, plans to “normalise” relations and resume direct flights were underway.
A statement from the Indian foreign affairs ministry on 2 October says direct air services will be allowed in line with the Northern winter season schedule, which begins late October.
“This agreement of the civil aviation authorities will further facilitate people-to-people contact between India and China, contributing towards the gradual normalisation of bilateral exchanges,” the ministry adds.
