China Eastern Airlines to resume Shanghai-Delhi flights from Nov 9

Direct air connectivity between India, China will be restored after more than five years, starting October 26, with IndiGo resuming its flights connecting Kolkata and Guangzhou

China Eastern Airlines will resume flights between Shanghai and Delhi from November 9 with three weekly services. The airline will operate three weekly services -- on Wednesdays, Saturdays, and Sundays -- using an A330-200 aircraft, according to an official release.

 

Direct air connectivity between India and China is set to resume after more than five years, beginning October 26, when IndiGo will restart its services linking Kolkata and Guangzhou.

 

“The resumption of this service marks the full restoration of China Eastern Airlines' network in India, providing fresh momentum for people-to-people exchanges and economic and trade collaboration,” the release said on Thursday.

 

China Eastern expands presence in India

 

InterGlobe Air Transport, part of InterGlobe Enterprises, has served as the exclusive General Sales Agent (GSA) for China Eastern Airlines in India since 2002, the year the carrier became the first Chinese airline to launch direct flights between the two countries.

 

Direct services between India and China were operational until early 2020 but were suspended following the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic and remained halted amid the eastern Ladakh border stand-off.

 

On October 2, the civil aviation ministry announced that direct air services between the two nations would resume by the end of the month, following continued technical-level discussions between civil aviation authorities as part of wider efforts to normalise bilateral relations.

 

PM Modi’s visit to China

 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently travelled to China for the first time in seven years to attend the two-day Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit, which also saw the participation of Russian President Vladimir Putin and other Asian leaders.

 

The visit followed Washington’s decision to impose a punitive 50 per cent tariff on Indian goods over New Delhi’s continued imports of Russian oil -- a move that has accelerated India’s thawing relations with China.

 

Thaw in India-China relations

 

At the summit, PM Modi said that an atmosphere of peace and stability had been established along the Himalayan border, where Indian and Chinese troops clashed in 2020. He also noted that both sides had agreed on improved border management and that direct flights between the two nations, suspended since 2020, were being resumed.

 

China has meanwhile allowed Indian pilgrims to visit Buddhist sites in Tibet, and both countries have lifted reciprocal tourist visa restrictions. Beijing also agreed to ease export curbs on rare earths, fertilisers, and tunnel boring machines during Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s visit to India in August.