India and China may resume direct flights next month: Report

The two sides announced in June that they would restart direct services

India and China may resume direct flights as soon as next month and airlines have been asked to prepare flights to China at short notice, according to Bloomberg.

The announcement of resumption of direct flights could be made as early as the end of August in China, Bloomberg said in its report.

The possible official announcement could be around the time the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit will be held in China at the end of August.

Passenger flights between India and China were suspended after the Covid-19 pandemic. Flyers were forced to go through hubs like through Hong Kong or Singapore.

Bloomberg in its report also said that the talks “might still hit a snag” and the “exact timing of any flight resumption remains fluid”.

The report said that in case direct flights resume Air India and IndiGo will likely restart flights to China. Before the flight suspension, Indian carriers including Air India and IndiGo, as well as Chinese airlines such as Air China, China Southern and China Eastern ran services across major cities of both countries.

Relations between India and China have been frosty since the beginning of the 2020s. Amid the coronavirus pandemic, China encroached upon Indian territory in Galwan Valley and Pangong Tso lake in Ladakh, sparking a befitting response from Indian forces.

India and China have seen some progress in reducing tensions along the Galwan Valley front. In 2024, troop disengagement was confirmed at four key friction points in eastern Ladakh, including Galwan Valley.

After years of curbs, India allowed tourist visas for Chinese nationals. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will attend the SCO summit in Tianjin on August 31

In January, India and China had agreed to resume direct flights, but the plan stalled as ties soured after Pakistan launched a terror attack on Indian civilians in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, sparking a conflict.

The two sides announced in June that they would restart direct services, though no concrete steps were seen.

Momentum picked up only in the past fortnight, with airlines now briefed about the proposal, Bloomberg further added in its report.

Meanwhile, a cargo of Indian diesel is heading to China, in what would be first such shipment since 2021, with oil product exports from Russia-linked Nayara Energy in a state of limbo following the latest round of European Union sanctions.

The EM Zenith sailed from the Nayara’s Vadinar terminal with about 496,000 barrels of ultra-low sulfur diesel on July 18, according to Kpler, a port agent report and ship tracking data compiled by Bloomberg.