China welcomes resumption of direct flights as IndiGo lands in Guangzhou from Kolkata

Beijing/New Delhi: China extended a warm welcome on Monday as IndiGo Airlines flight 6E1703 from Kolkata landed in Guangzhou, marking the resumption of direct air connectivity between the two countries after more than five years.

“On the morning of October 27, IndiGo Airlines flight 6E1703 arrived at Guangzhou, China safe and sound. Warm welcome to China,” wrote Yu Jing, spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in India, on social media platform X.

The flight, which departed late Sunday from Kolkata’s Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport, is part of a broader revival of India-China air links. IndiGo will now operate daily non-stop services between Kolkata and Guangzhou using Airbus A320 aircraft. The airline has also announced daily direct flights between New Delhi and Guangzhou starting November 10.

China Eastern Airlines is also set to resume operations on the India route, with direct flights between Shanghai and New Delhi commencing November 9. These flights will run three times a week, on Wednesdays, Saturdays, and Sundays.

The decision to restore direct flights follows diplomatic discussions between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping during the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit earlier this year. The move is seen as a step towards strengthening bilateral ties and enhancing people-to-people and trade exchanges.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun described the resumption as a key outcome of the leaders’ meeting in Tianjin. “It is also a positive measure to facilitate friendly exchanges between the more than 2.8 billion people of China and India,” he said during a media briefing on October 24.

Guo added that China is committed to working with India to manage bilateral relations from a strategic and long-term perspective, aiming to promote stable and healthy development and contribute to regional peace and prosperity.

(Inputs from IANS)