Direct air services between India and China are scheduled to restart after more than five years, as IndiGo announces the resumption of flights to Guangzhou. The airline will begin operations on the Kolkata–Guangzhou route from October 26, with a new Delhi-Guangzhou service launching on November 10.
This decision follows a bilateral agreement between New Delhi and Beijing to reinstate air links that had been halted since the Doklam standoff and further delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
IndiGo stated that it will run daily non-stop flights between Delhi and Guangzhou using its Airbus A320neo aircraft. The airline emphasized that the revival of services will facilitate business, trade, and tourism between the two nations.
The Delhi-Guangzhou route is part of IndiGo’s broader international expansion, which includes upcoming flights from Delhi to Hanoi starting December 20, in addition to recent inaugurations to London, Athens, and Copenhagen.
China has welcomed the resumption of direct flights with India, hailing it as a positive development reflecting the commitment of both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping to bolster bilateral relations.
According to the Ministry of External Affairs, civil aviation authorities from both countries finalized the air services agreement earlier this year as part of a gradual normalization of relations with China.
Following military disengagement at Depsang and Demchok in late 2024 and subsequent confidence-building measures, an agreement was reached soon after Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s visit to New Delhi, signaling a thaw in relations.
Air India is also gearing up to resume services to China by the year-end. Officials view the reinstatement of direct flights as a crucial step in revitalizing people-to-people interactions and facilitating smoother economic exchanges between the two neighboring nations.