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New Delhi : Direct flight services between India and China have resumed. China Southern Airlines has restarted direct flights between the two nations after a gap of nearly six years. This news comes just hours before the arrival of Chinese President Xi Jinping in India. This move by China Southern Airlines reflects improving relations between India and China. Xi Jinping, who is visiting India for the BRICS summit, is scheduled to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the evening. Discussions on various issues are expected during this bilateral meeting.
On September 12, 2026, China Southern Airlines announced that it would resume regular passenger flights on the Guangzhou-New Delhi route starting September 21. According to a report by the Global Times, this service is being restarted after a hiatus of approximately six years. The airline stated that following the restoration of the service, it would operate over 100 weekly flights across eight round-trip routes in South Asia.
The resumption of direct flights to India by the Chinese airline is considered a significant step towards enhancing connectivity between the two countries. Earlier in April, Air China resumed direct flight services between Beijing and Delhi. This was the second direct service to India restored by a Chinese airline; prior to this, China Eastern Airlines had resumed direct flights between Kunming and Kolkata on April 18.
Indian airline IndiGo launched a daily non-stop flight service between Kolkata and Shanghai on March 30. This has further strengthened air connectivity between India and China. IndiGo had previously resumed its Kolkata-Guangzhou flight service and subsequently commenced operations to China from Delhi as well.
Direct flights between India and China were suspended during the COVID-19 pandemic. Subsequently, air connectivity was also affected by the strained bilateral relations resulting from the Doklam and Galwan disputes. Now, with the improvement in relations between the two countries, the resumption of direct flights is considered a significant step towards boosting people-to-people contact and economic activities.
Chinese President Xi Jinping departed from Beijing for New Delhi on Saturday to participate in the 18th BRICS Summit at the invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. According to a report by Xinhua, Xi Jinping will also hold a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Modi on Saturday. Xi’s visit and the resumption of India-China flights are being viewed as indicators of broader efforts to enhance connectivity between the two nations.
Report – Abhijit Tushar Bhatt (Political Editor)
