India and China resume direct flights after a five-year hiatus

Direct flights between India and China have resumed after a five-year hiatus amid improving relations between the two countries. About writes BBC.

IndiGo flight 6E 1703 from Kolkata, the first flight after the break, landed in Guangzhou, China, on Monday, October 27. There were about 180 passengers on board.

Flights between the two countries were suspended in early 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic and have not resumed since the escalation of the conflict in the disputed Himalayan territory.

Recently, however, India and China have been gradually improving their relations. Last year, the countries reached a historic agreement on border patrols.

The Indian government noted that the resumption of direct flights would "facilitate people-to-people contacts" and help "gradually normalize bilateral exchanges."

According to the OAG, before the suspension of flights in 2019, there were about 2,588 scheduled flights between the countries per year.

At the airport in Kolkata, airline employees lit oil lamps in honor of the resumption of direct flights. Chinese Consul Qing Yong called the day "very important for India-China relations."

China Eastern Airlines plans to launch flights between Shanghai and New Delhi three times a week starting November 9.

• On September 12, Bloomberg wrote that India plans to strengthen the railway infrastructure on the northeastern border for faster transportation of goods and military readiness in case of deterioration of relations with China.