The China-India direct air services, which had been on a five-year hiatus, officially resumed on Monday, drawing welcome from travelers, business groups and companies from both countries.
Earlier on Monday, the first flight carrying 176 passengers since the resumption of China-India direct air services departed from Kolkata and landed in Guangzhou, South China’s Guangdong Province. After a few hours of turnaround, the same flight departed again for India around noon on Monday, completing its first-round trip.
The long-awaited reinstatement has already brought benefits to businesses, according to travelers aboard the inaugural flight back to India. A Chinese employee surnamed Huang, who works for a molding equipment manufacturing company, told the Global Times on Monday that the direct route greatly facilitates his firm’s business operations in India.
“It helps a lot for both Indian partners traveling to China for factory tours and for our colleagues coming to support projects in India,” he said. Huang, together with several co-workers, is traveling to support operations at the company’s plant in Ahmedabad for about three months.
Huang noted that amid trade friction between China and the US, his company has seen a surge in orders in India and is expanding there, which includes preparations for a second-phase factory. Direct flights allow business staff to avoid long detours and transfers. “If one day there is a direct flight to Ahmedabad, that would be even better,” he added, expressing hopes for more routes.
The bridge between the two major Asian economies is rebuilding, one flight at a time. IndiGo Airlines, which operated this first restored route, told the Global Times that the route will run on a daily basis starting from Monday, with more direct routes are already in the pipeline.
The first round-trip direct flight between China and India saw full capacity on both the inbound and outbound legs, staff from IndiGo Airlines told the Global Times, underscoring the strong demand for the newly resumed route.
Yu Jing, a spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in India, said in a post on X on Sunday night that direct flights between China and India “are now a reality,” highlighting the newly resumed Guangzhou-Kolkata service and noting that flights between Shanghai and New Delhi will start on November 9 and operate three times a week.
The relaunch has been warmly received by Indian business representatives. “It is a welcome decision for the India-China relationship. With direct flights, both trade and tourism will grow and make the region stronger – a win-win for all,” Arjun Dhawan, governing council member of the Rubber Plastic and Skill Development Council of the government of India, told the Global Times on Monday.
Dhawan highlighted Kolkata’s emerging role as an eastern manufacturing hub driven by India’s “Make in India” initiative. He said the new flights will serve as a positive booster for product development for both local consumption and export. “Visas are also now being promptly provided to Indian counterparts, which is another big boost for Indian companies to visit China,” he added, expressing the hope that more Chinese businesses will join trade fairs in Kolkata to explore opportunities in the Indian market. “Skilling in different sectors is where we need to focus for tie-ups with China and to make best use of the direct flight connection.”
To mark the resumption, Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport held a brief welcoming ceremony on Monday to greet the arrival of IndiGo’s first flight from India to China after five years on Monday. According to a video provided to the Global Times by the airline, a guidance vehicle marked “6E1703” escorted the aircraft to its gate, and cabin crew and passengers were greeted with flowers, cake and a small ceremony.
Photos provided by IndiGo showed a ribbon-cutting event was held earlier at Kolkata’s Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport before takeoff.
A representative of a Chinese enterprise operating in India also voiced optimism, though he called for India to further improve visa facilitation for Chinese business travelers. While China issued more than 200,000 visas to Indian applicants over the past year, he noted that Chinese citizens still face tight scrutiny and low approval rates for Indian visas, especially for business visits.
“China is showing a willingness to deepen economic cooperation, but the India’s attitude toward Chinese-funded companies has not fundamentally changed,” he said.
Despite the hurdles, economic ties between the two nations continue to strengthen. Xu Feihong, Chinese ambassador to India, wrote on Sunday that India’s exports to China jumped by about 22 percent in the first half of fiscal year 2025-26 compared with a year earlier.
“China welcomes more premium Indian goods in its market and stands ready to help offset the impact of US tariffs on India’s trade,” Xu said.
Chinese exports to India are on the rise, reaching 728.6 billion yuan ($102.5 billion) from January to September, up 13.9 percent year-on-year, and underscoring growing economic interdependence as more flight connections prepare to take off, according to data from China’s General Administration of Customs.
