China Eastern Airlines
NEW DELHI: China Eastern Airlines will be the first Chinese carrier to resume direct India flights after an over five-year lull with a thrice-weekly service between Shanghai and Delhi from November 9. IndiGo is the first Indian carrier that will resume China service with a daily between Kolkata & Guangzhou from October 26 and then Delhi & Guangzhou from November 10. Air India will fly to the country before the end of the year and other Chinese carriers will have India flights too.
In 2019, India and China had 539 direct flights operated by airlines including Air India, IndiGo, China Southern and China Eastern. In March 2020, international flights were halted during Covid. Since then travelling between India and China means doing so through a third country, mostly in Southeast Asia.While IndiGo will use its single aisle Airbus A320s on the first two announced China routes, China Eastern will operate wide body A330s.The aviation ministry had said on X October 2 that direct flights between the two countries “follow continuous technical-level engagement between civil aviation authorities as part of broader efforts to normalise bilateral ties. The move will greatly enhance air connectivity, support people-to-people exchanges and contribute to the strengthening of economic collaboration between the two countries.”
