New Delhi: After a gap of five years, India and China will resume direct flight services later this month as part of efforts to rebuild their ties that came under severe strain following a border standoff in eastern Ladakh.
The announcement by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) came a month after Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping held talks on the margins of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation’s (SCO) summit in China’s Tianjin city.
Indian carrier IndiGo and China Eastern will be the first two airlines to resume direct flights between the two countries, people familiar with the development said.
IndiGo said it plans to operate daily flights from Kolkata to Guangzhou from October 26.
The flight services between the two sides were suspended following the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. They were not restored in view of the over-four-year border face-off in eastern Ladakh, which ended in October last year.
“Since earlier this year, as part of the government’s approach towards gradual normalisation of relations between India and China, the civil aviation authorities of the two countries have been engaged in technical-level discussions on resuming direct air services between the two countries and on a revised air services agreement,” the MEA said.
It has now been agreed that direct air services connecting designated points in India and China can resume by late October, in keeping with the winter-season schedule and subject to commercial decisions of the designated carriers from the two countries and the fulfilment of all operational criteria, it added.
“This agreement of the civil aviation authorities will further facilitate people-to-people contact between India and China, contributing towards the gradual normalisation of bilateral exchanges,” the MEA said in a statement.
IndiGo said in a statement that it plans to operate daily flights from Kolkata to Guangzhou from October 26. “Subject to regulatory approvals, IndiGo will also introduce direct flights between Delhi and Guangzhou shortly,” it said.
In a social media post, the Ministry of Civil Aviation said India and China will resume direct air services by the end of October.
“This follows continuous technical-level engagement between civil aviation authorities as part of broader efforts to normalise bilateral ties,” it said.
“The move will greatly enhance air connectivity, support people-to-people exchanges and contribute to the strengthening of economic collaboration between the two countries,” it added.
In his remarks at the meeting with Xi on August 31, Modi had said that direct flights are being resumed between the two countries.
India-China relations plunged to their lowest point since the 1962 war following the Galwan valley clashes in June 2020.
After a series of diplomatic and military talks, the two sides withdrew their troops from several friction points along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh.
In October last year, the two sides firmed up a disengagement pact for Depsang and Demchok, the last two friction points.
Days after the agreement was finalised, Modi and Xi held talks in Kazan and took a number of decisions to improve the ties.
In the last few months, the two sides have taken a series of measures to repair the ties, including the resumption of the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra.
