Direct flights between India and China will resume later this month, ending a five-year suspension that followed the 2020 Galwan Valley clash and the Covid-19 pandemic, multiple media outlets have reported.
India’s IndiGo airline is set to operate daily non-stop flights between Kolkata and Guangzhou starting 26 October, with tickets already available.
India’s Ministry of External Affairs has said the move will “further facilitate people-to-people contact between India and China, contributing towards the gradual normalisation of bilateral exchanges.”
Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport, meanwhile, has said it would “actively promote airlines to open direct routes” to the likes of Delhi, India’s capital. According to the Hindu newspaper, Air India is expected to launch a route to Shanghai by the end of the year.
[See more: Airports in Zhuhai and Hong Kong are now connected by coach]
The resumption of China-India flights follows a series of diplomatic steps to rebuild ties over the past year. Officials from both countries have held multiple rounds of talks, agreed on border patrolling arrangements, and facilitated religious pilgrimages.
In July, the Indian government started issuing tourist visas to Chinese nationals for the first time in five years.
On a visit to Delhi in August, Foreign Minister Wang Yi said that China and India should see each other as “partners” rather than “adversaries.”
The same month saw Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi travel to China for the first time in seven years, and reaffirm his commitment towards normalising relations with China to President Xi Jinping.
