2 more Chinese carriers want to start flights with India, file applications

Two additional Chinese carriers have applied to begin India-China flights, adding momentum to the gradual reopening of air links as bilateral ties improve

Two more Chinese carriers — Suparna Airlines and Jiangsu Jingdong Cargo Airlines — have approached the Indian government to start flights between the two countries, sources privy to the development told Business Standard on Friday. 

Direct commercial flights between India and China officially resumed on October 26, ending a suspension that had lasted more than five years due to strained bilateral ties. 

IndiGo became the first carrier to restart operations, launching daily non-stop flights between Kolkata and Guangzhou from October 26. 

Shanghai-based China Eastern Airlines also resumed its Shanghai-Delhi route from November 9 with three weekly flights.

IndiGo on November 10 resumed its Delhi-Guangzhou daily service. 

“Suparna Airlines as well as Jiangsu Jingdong Cargo Airlines have put in their applications with the Indian government to start flights between India and China,” the first source said. 

While it is clear that Jiangsu Jingdong Cargo Airlines wants to operate cargo flights between the two countries, it is not clear whether Suparna Airlines want to operate cargo services or passenger flights, a second source said. 

A request for a statement by Business Standard to the Ministry of Civil Aviation regarding this matter remained answered. Both the airlines could not be immediately contacted for comment. 

Air India has recently also announced that it will restart its Delhi-Shanghai service from February 1, marking its return to mainland China after nearly six years. 

Six years ago, a total of six carriers operated flights between India and China. IndiGo ran 14 weekly services and Air India operated five in November 2019. 

On the Chinese side, Air China, China Eastern Airlines, China Southern Airlines and Shandong Airlines operated 9, 14, 15 and 4 weekly flights respectively that month, according to aviation analytics firm Cirium. 

Ties between India and China visibly warmed in August-September 2025, culminating in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s first visit to China in seven years during the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit, where he met President Xi Jinping in Tianjin. 

This calming of tensions between India and China follows prolonged tensions since the 2020 Galwan Valley clash that triggered a standoff along the Line of Actual Control. 

The thaw has also been influenced by external pressures: Heavy Trump-era tariffs on Indian goods spurred New Delhi to diversify its diplomatic and trade engagements and open space for recalibration with China.