India–China flights resume after 5 years; first plane from Kolkata to Guangzhou today at 10 pm

Kolkata–Guangzhou flight takes off tonight; Delhi–Shanghai services start mid-November.

Direct flights between India and China resume tonight after a five-year suspension, signaling one of the clearest signs yet of a gradual thaw in ties between the two Asian giants.

The first IndiGo flight from Kolkata to Guangzhou is scheduled to take off at 10 pm on October 26, ending a hiatus that began in 2020 amid the pandemic and border tensions in Ladakh.

Flights between Shanghai and New Delhi will restart from November 9, operated by China Eastern Airlines, while IndiGo will add a Delhi–Guangzhou route a day later on November 10.

‘A positive step forward’: China calls it a sign of renewed goodwill

China hailed the move as a 'positive measure to boost people-to-people exchanges,' with its Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun saying the resumption marks the “latest progress in implementing the understanding reached between the two countries.”

“China is willing to work with India to view and handle relations from a strategic and long-term perspective, and promote continued healthy and stable development,” Jiakun said during a media briefing in Beijing.

Yu Jing, spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in India, also posted on X:

“Direct flights between China and India are now a reality. Kolkata → Guangzhou launches today. Shanghai ↔ New Delhi starts Nov 9, flying three times a week.”

Direct flights between China and India are now a reality.

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✈️ Kolkata → Guangzhou launches today.

Shanghai ↔ New Delhi starts Nov 9, flying 3 times a week. pic.twitter.com/rxa0ag4jFd

— Yu Jing (@ChinaSpox_India) October 26, 2025

How we got here: from pandemic shutdown to diplomatic reset

Flight services were suspended in early 2020 as both nations shut borders due to COVID-19. What followed was a four-year chill after the Galwan Valley clashes that plunged bilateral ties to their lowest point since the 1962 war.

After multiple rounds of military and diplomatic talks, both sides agreed to disengage troops at major friction points. The turning point came last year when Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping met on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit, paving the way for a broader reset.

The resumption of flights was one of the first tangible outcomes of that conversation. India officially announced the move on October 2, with both countries’ civil aviation authorities completing the logistics over the following weeks.

New routes, renewed hope

The routes will initially operate three times a week, with plans to scale up frequency as demand rises. For travellers, the restart means faster access for students, business executives, and families separated for years.

Before 2020, more than 1 million passengers flew between India and China annually through direct and connecting routes.

“It’s a small step in the air, but a big signal on the ground,” said a senior trade analyst based in Mumbai. “Both sides are testing how much cooperation can return without reopening old wounds.”

The resumption follows a string of confidence-building measures this year, from discussions on trade resumption to reopening the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra.

Both governments have avoided overhyping the flight development, describing it as part of a “long-term normalisation process.”