Sansad TV

Perspective : India, China To Resume Direct Flights | 03 October, 2025

Sansad Tv

After more than five years, direct flights between India and China are finally set to take off again by the end of October 2025. In a statement, the Ministry of External Affairs informed on Thursday that both sides had been holding technical-level discussions since the start of this year on restarting direct air services and revising the Air Services Agreement. Following the discussions, it has now been agreed that direct air services connecting designated points in India and China can resume by late October 2025, in keeping with the winter season schedule. The move is being seen as a step towards reviving people-to-people contact and slowly normalising bilateral exchanges. Following the announcement, IndiGo was quick to declare daily flights from Kolkata to Guangzhou starting October 26, with plans for a Delhi–Guangzhou service soon after. Air India too is preparing to connect Delhi with Shanghai before year-end. Direct flights between India and China were suspended initially due to the Covid pandemic, but stayed off the radar as ties soured after the June 2020 standoff in eastern Ladakh. The absence of connectivity left passengers grappling with sky-high fares and exhausting routes. Contrast that with December 2019, when over 500 direct flights operated every month between the two countries. So, how big is this step – not just in easing travel, but also in signaling a thaw in India–China relations?

Anchor: – Teena Jha

Producer: – Sagheer Ahmad

Guest Coordinator: – Deepti Vashisht, Vinod Kumar Singh, Paras Kandpal