IndiGo Ready To Resume India-China Direct Flights, Awaits Bilateral Green Light, Says CEO
The reopening of direct air connectivity between the two nations will mark the first such services since they were suspended during the Covid pandemic.
India's leading airline, IndiGo, has announced its readiness to resume direct flights between India and China, pending bilateral agreements.
The reopening of direct air connectivity between the world’s two most populous nations will mark the first such services since they were suspended in early 2020 at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent political tensions.
"IndiGo operated daily flights between India and China prior to the Covid-19 pandemic. The airline stands ready to resume these services as soon as bilateral arrangements between the two countries allow," IndiGo Chief Executive Officer Pieter Elbers told NDTV Profit in an emailed statement. "Guided by its entrepreneurial spirit, IndiGo remains committed to identifying and pursuing commercially viable opportunities."
Diplomatic and economic relations between India and China had soured since the Galwan Valley clash between Indian and Chinese armed forces in 2020. The relationship remained strained for almost four years till October 2024 when the two sides reached an agreement on patrolling along the Line of Actual Control.
The renewed push to rebuild a direct link heralds the latest signs of a thaw in the frosty ties between India and China. The two sides are in advanced negotiations on resuming direct flights as part of efforts to normalise their relations. It also comes at a time when India’s relations with the US have come under considerable strain, after US President Donald Trump doubled tariffs on Indian goods to 50% as a penalty for its purchases of Russian oil.
On Aug 11, Air India announced it would suspend its direct link to Washington from Sept. 1, though it cited “operational factors” as the reason.
Sources say that domestic airlines have been asked by the government to stand ready to operate routes to China on short notice. An official announcement is expected this month-end or early next month.
Passengers had to take indirect routes via hubs like Hong Kong, Thailand or Singapore to connect across borders after flights were halted.
Before flights were halted, Indian carriers including Air India and IndiGo operated routes to China alongside Chinese airlines like Air China, and China Eastern and China Southern. Over 8 lakh passengers flew between India and China in FY19, according to DGCA data. At least 539 monthly direct flights operated between China and India before the pandemic.
Earlier this year, a statement from the Ministry of External Affairs said a visit by a top envoy to Beijing had yielded agreement “in principle to resume direct air services between the two countries”.
