China and India to resume direct flights after five-year pause

Reuters

China Eastern Airlines will restart direct flights connecting Shanghai and Delhi on 9 October, marking the first such services in five years.

India’s largest airline, IndiGo, will also launch daily flights between Kolkata and Guangzhou, signalling a broader resumption of air links between the two countries.

Direct flights were halted during the coronavirus pandemic. Relations between New Delhi and Beijing have been gradually improving following the deadly 2020 border clashes in Jammu and Kashmir, which killed 20 Indian and four Chinese soldiers.

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