Air India to restart China flights in 2026 after nearly six-year halt

In Oct, China's Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport announced the resumption of flights between the two nations, ending an over five years halt and signaling cautious easing of bilateral tension

(Reuters) -Air India said on Monday it will restart flights to China from New Delhi after nearly six years come February 2026, and was planning to launch a Mumbai-Shanghai route later next year.

The development is subject to regulatory approvals, the carrier said.

Last Month, China's Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport announced the resumption of flights between the two nations, ending an over five years halt and signaling cautious easing of bilateral tensions.

"The reinstatement of Air India's services to Shanghai follows recent India-China diplomatic agreements that restored the air links paused in early 2020," Air India said in a statement.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited China earlier this year, for the first time in seven years, to attend a meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation regional security bloc.

Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed that India and China were development partners, not rivals, and discussed ways to strengthen trade ties amid global tariff uncertainty.

(Reporting by Manvi Pant in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips and Nivedita Bhattacharjee )