India and China to resume direct flights after five-year suspension

India and China have reached an agreement to restart direct commercial flights after a suspension of more than five years, with services expected to resume by late October 2025.

The announcement comes amid efforts to gradually normalise ties after years of diplomatic and border tensions. The flights were halted in 2020 following the COVID-19 pandemic and amid geopolitical strains.

During his recent visit to China, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping underscored a shared vision of India and China as development partners, not adversaries.

Their discussions included trade, border stability, and restoring people-to-people exchanges.

According to India’s Ministry of External Affairs, civil aviation authorities from both nations have been in technical-level talks to revise their Air Services Agreement and finalize routes.

The agreement states that direct services will connect designated points in both India and China, subject to the commercial preparedness of airlines and fulfilment of operational criteria.

Furthermore, despite the targeted timeline, the restart depends on both sides ensuring safety, regulatory permissions, slot allocations, and airline readiness.

For business travelers, students, tourists, and families, the resumption will ease burdensome indirect routing and visa constraints.

Beyond connectivity, the move signals a cautious thaw in bilateral tensions. Analysts see it as part of a broader recalibration in diplomatic engagement, where both countries seek to manage competition without severing channels of cooperation.