Flights between India and China finally resume after five

Direct flights have resumed between India and China after a five-year hiatus with the first flight, from IndiGo, departing from Kolkata airport on October 26. Pictured: An IndiGo flight at India's Mumbai airport in 2023. Francis Mascarenhas/Reuters

Direct flights have resumed between India and China after a five-year hiatus, the latest sign of warming relations between the world’s two most populous countries.

IndiGo flight 6E 1703 departed from India’s Kolkata airport at 10pm on Sunday, touching down in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou some three-and-a-half hours later.

Flights between India and mainland China had been suspended since early 2020 at the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic and remained halted after a deadly clash on their disputed Himalayan border escalated tensions.