India To Resume Direct Air Services With China By Late October 2025, Confirms MEA

India and China will resume direct flight services later this month, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Thursday. The flight services between the two sides were suspended following the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. It was not restored in view of the eastern Ladakh border row.

It has now been agreed that direct air services connecting designated points in India and China can resume by late October, subject to the commercial decision of the designated carriers from the two countries and fulfilment of all operational criteria, the MEA said.

Since earlier this year, the civil aviation authorities of the two countries have been engaged in technical-level discussions on resuming direct air services between the two countries and on a revised air services agreement, it said in a statement.

IndiGo on Thursday said it will resume flights from Kolkata to Guangzhou in China from October 26. Direct flights were operational between the two countries till early 2020, before getting suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic. Indian and Chinese carriers had direct services. The services remained suspended in view of the eastern Ladakh border row.

The airline will resume 'services to Mainland China connecting Kolkata to Guangzhou (CAN) with daily, non-stop flights starting 26 October 2025,' it said in a statement. Subject to regulatory approvals, IndiGo will also introduce direct flights between Delhi and Guangzhou shortly.

The Civil Aviation Ministry on Thursday said India and China will resume direct air services by the end of October 2025, aligning with the winter schedule. 'This follows continuous technical-level engagement between civil aviation authorities as part of broader efforts to normalise bilateral ties,' the ministry said in a post on X.