The South Asian nations largest budget carrier says it will restart a flight from Kolkata to Guangzhou

India and China have announced the resumption of direct flights after a gap of five years.

The Asian neighbors finalized a new direct air services agreement, the Indian Foreign Ministry said in astatementon Thursday.

The agreement will allow designated carriers from India and China to operate direct flights between designated points, subject to meeting all necessary operational and commercial requirements, with the new arrangement set to take effect from the upcoming winter season schedule, the ministry added.

The South Asian nation's largest budget carrier, Indigo, said on Thursday that it will restart a daily direct flight from Kolkata to Guangzhou on October 26.

Direct flights between India and China were suspended at the beginning of the outbreak of Covid-19 in 2020.

New Delhi and Beijing have been working on restoring ties, which became strained following a border clash in 2020 that claimed several lives on both sides.

The thaw in relations began after a meeting between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping in October 2024 on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in Kazan, Russia.

This July, India began issuing tourist visas to Chinese citizens after a five-year pause. A month later, Modi visited China for the first time since 2018 to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Tianjin.

At a meeting with Xi on the sidelines of the summit, Modi said, "Our relationship got a positive direction. There is peace and stability on the borders."

In Tianjin, the leaders agreed on several steps to improve border management, resume direct flight connectivity "at the earliest," and reopen border trade.

(RT.com)