Shanghai

Consul General of India in Shanghai, Pratik Mathur, on Monday welcomed the first batch of passengers arriving from New Delhi as direct commercial flights between India and China officially resumed after five years.

India in Shanghai wrote in an X post, "Fair Winds & Clear skies! India emerges as a Global Hub as people-to-people ties grow stronger. CG @PratikMathur1 was at hand to receive the first set of passengers as direct flights resumed between New Delhi and Shanghai."

The move marks a significant step in restoring normal travel and trade links between the two Asian neighbours, whose flight operations had been suspended since early 2020 following the COVID-19 pandemic and the Galwan Valley clash.

The resumption began in phases last month. Indian carrier IndiGo restarted daily flights between Kolkata and Guangzhou on October 26, becoming the first airline to relaunch services after the long suspension.

Following that, China Eastern Airlines resumed its Shanghai-New Delhi route on November 9, completing the restoration of direct connectivity between the two countries.

According to China Eastern Airlines, the Shanghai-Delhi service will operate three times a week, every Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday, using Airbus A330-200 wide-body aircraft.

Flight MU563 will depart from Shanghai Pudong International Airport at 12:50 pm and arrive in Delhi at 5:45 pm local time, while the return flight MU564 will leave Delhi at 7:55 pm and reach Shanghai at 4:10 am the next day.

The airline said the restored route would "boost people-to-people exchanges and strengthen economic and trade cooperation between India and China."

Earlier, IndiGo had announced plans to expand its China operations further by adding direct daily flights between Delhi and Guangzhou from November 10.

These routes, it said, are aimed at "rebuilding trade and tourism ties" disrupted over the past five years.

Flights between India and China had remained suspended since 2020 due to the pandemic and subsequent diplomatic tensions.

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However, the two governments have recently shown renewed engagement following confidence-building measures and discussions on easing border frictions.