Nigeria TV Info — India, China Resume Direct Passenger Flights After Four-Year Suspension

New Delhi, India — India and China will restart direct passenger flights later this month, ending a four-year suspension imposed after deadly border clashes in 2020.

India’s foreign ministry announced on Thursday that the resumption would “further facilitate people-to-people contact” and contribute to the “gradual normalisation of bilateral exchanges” between the two Asian giants.

The first flights will begin on 26 October, with IndiGo, India’s largest budget carrier, launching direct services between Kolkata and Guangzhou. More routes are expected to follow as relations continue to improve.

Direct flights were halted in June 2020 after violent clashes in the Galwan Valley along the Himalayan frontier, which left at least 20 Indian soldiers and four Chinese troops dead — the bloodiest confrontation in more than four decades. The incident pushed bilateral ties into a deep freeze.

Since then, cautious steps have been taken to ease tensions. Both nations have engaged in several rounds of military and diplomatic talks, alongside symbolic gestures. China recently reopened religious pilgrimage routes for Indian devotees, while India resumed visa services for Chinese visitors and signaled readiness to revive border trade discussions.

At the political level, efforts to rebuild trust have also been visible. In August, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi attended the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in China, where he met President Xi Jinping. Both leaders pledged to move from confrontation to cooperation.

Earlier this year, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi visited New Delhi, urging the two nations to see each other as “partners, not adversaries.” Beijing’s envoy to India, Xu Feihong, also aligned with New Delhi’s trade concerns, criticizing the United States for imposing steep tariffs.

With flights set to resume, analysts say the move signals a broader push towards stability and cooperation between Asia’s two largest economies.