India, China to resume direct flights from October: Air routes suspended 5 years ago during COVID-19 pandemic

Shortly after the announcement, airline IndiGo declared that it will resume direct flights between the two countries from 26 October.

Daily non-stop flights will operate from Kolkata to Guangzhou. The airline also stated that direct flights between Delhi and Guangzhou will also be launched soon. For these operations, IndiGo will use its Airbus A320neo aircraft.

This service between India and China was suspended in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Later, following the Galwan clash, relations between the two countries worsened.

The Ministry of External Affairs said this is a major step towards gradually normalising India-China relations. The flights will operate according to the winter schedule. However, this will depend on the preparedness of airlines from both countries and the fulfilment of all regulations.

After several months of technical-level discussions, the civil aviation authorities of both countries have decided that direct air services between India and China will resume from the end of October 2025.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, citizens of both countries have been travelling to each other’s countries via third countries such as Thailand, Singapore, or Malaysia. This increased both travel time and expenses.

In recent years, especially since early 2025, India and China have taken steps to normalise their relations.

Significance of the decision

·         Increased people-to-people contact

·         Economic benefits

·         Diplomatic significance

Direct flights were stopped in early 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic and ongoing tensions along the Line of Actual Control (LAC). Since then, passengers have had to travel via third countries, increasing costs and travel time.

Opportunity for Indian airlines

India-China direct flight services offer opportunities for Indian airlines, with historical data suggesting strong profitability potential in the sector.

Pre-COVID, flight services to China recorded 90% occupancy, driven by business and visiting-friends-and-relatives (VFR) travel.

The 539 monthly flights in 2019 offered over 125,000 seats, with Chinese carriers holding a 70-80% share due to higher frequencies and larger aircraft.

Indian carriers, however, are better positioned now than in 2019. Air India, now privatised and well-capitalised, aims to reclaim market share with routes like Delhi to Shanghai.

IndiGo, which has doubled in size since 2019, can deploy its A321XLR aircraft for efficient, narrow-body operations to secondary Chinese cities like Chengdu or Kunming.

Before Covid, the India-China travel corridor was bustling with travellers. In December 2019, some 539 direct flights were operated monthly, connecting cities like New Delhi, Mumbai, and Kolkata with Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Kunming.

These routes carried over 1.25 million two-way passengers annually, with Delhi and Shanghai seeing a record 149,000 passengers in 2019. Cargo movement was equally significant, with 30,000 tonnes transported annually, surpassing India-US cargo volumes.

Traders, tourists, students stand to gain most

·         Tourists: In 2019, approximately 340,000 Chinese tourists visited India, contributing to 3% of India’s foreign tourist arrivals, while 142,000 Indians travelled to China. Direct flights, cutting travel time to six hours and potentially reducing fares by 15-25%, will make short leisure trips and VFR travel more viable. The recent reinstatement of tourist visas for Chinese nationals by India, effective July 24, 2025, further supports this recovery.

·         Traders: For businesses, direct flights are a game-changer. India’s $99.2 billion trade deficit with China in FY2024-25 underscores the importance of efficient logistics. Direct flights will facilitate faster movement of high-value goods, with belly cargo capacity on routes like Delhi-Shanghai or Delhi-Guangzhou cutting transit times by days.

·         Students: Indian students, especially those pursuing MBBS degrees in China, are among the biggest winners. Pre-COVID, 20,000-25,000 Indian students studied in China, with 80-90% in medical programmes. By 2023-24, this number dwindled to less than 3,000 due to travel restrictions and visa curbs.

Direct flights will reduce travel costs and time, easing semester-start rush and supporting families visiting students. The new Chinese K visa programme, launching October 1, 2025, targeting young professionals in tech and science, could further boost educational exchanges.