India and China resume direct flights after 5 years

Direct flights between India and China have resumed as relations between the international locations look like thawing.

IndiGo flight 6E 1703 from Kolkata landed within the southern Chinese language metropolis of Guangzhou on Monday, carrying about 180 passengers.

Flights between the 2 international locations have been first suspended through the Covid pandemic in early 2020 and didn’t restart after a deadly clash in a disputed Himalayan border area escalated tensions.

However the two international locations have been steadily rebuilding relations, and final 12 months they reached a landmark agreement on border patrols.

Indian prime minister Narendra Modi visited China in August for the primary time in seven years. That very same month Chinese language overseas minister Wang Yi visited India.

The Indian authorities stated the resumption of flights would “facilitate people-to-people contact” and assist “the gradual normalisation of bilateral exchanges”.

India additionally resumed the issuance of visas for Chinese tourists.

On the Kolkata airport on Sunday night, airline employees lit brass oil lamps to mark the resumption of the direct flights as IndiGo passengers checked in.

A senior Chinese language consular official, Qin Yong, informed reporters on the airport that it was a “essential day for the India-China relationship”.

One passenger stated the direct connection would enhance logistics and transit time.

China Japanese Airways is about to launch a flight connecting Shanghai and Delhi in November.