China increases direct flights to India amid warming ties

Air China has restarted its Beijing-Delhi service, the second route opened by Chinese airlines in April

China has increased its direct flights to India amid warming ties between the Asian nations.

On Tuesday, Air China will resume its direct service between Beijing and Delhi, the Global Times reported.

The Beijing-Delhi direct flight is the second route to India resumed by Chinese airlines in less than a week.

China Eastern Airlines relaunched its direct service between Kunming in southwest China’s Yunnan Province and the eastern Indian city of Kolkata on April 18.

An Airbus A330 aircraft will run the Beijing-Delhi flight, with the service available on Tuesdays, Fridays, and Sundays.

Cleared For Take Off: China-India Air Links Roaring Back To Life

Direct connectivity between China and India is picking up pace, with Air China resuming Beijing-Delhi flights three times a week, according to Global Times.

China Eastern Airlines recently restarted… pic.twitter.com/bZf1OzHuj1

— RT_India (@RT_India_news) April 20, 2026

Fares start from $523, with flights departing the Chinese capital at 3:15 PM and arriving in Delhi at 8:20 PM local time.

China Eastern’s Kolkata flight was the carrier’s latest expansion of its service between China and India, following the resumption of the Shanghai-Delhi route in November 2025.

The Kolkata service has six weekly round-trip flights.

Indian airlines have also started similar services, with the South Asian nation’s largest carrier, Indigo, launching daily direct flights between Kolkata and Shanghai on March 29.

Before that, IndiGo resumed the Kolkata-Guangzhou route and launched the Delhi-Guangzhou route.

Direct flights between China and India officially resumed in October 2025 after a five-year hiatus as ties between the two nations improved. They were suspended at the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020. A border clash in June of that year further strained relations.

The Asian neighbors have also eased visa restrictions for each other’s citizens over the last year.

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In July 2025, India resumed issuing tourist visas to Chinese citizens after a five-year pause. Last year, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited China for the first time since 2018, where he met President Xi Jinping at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit.

In March, India relaxed restrictions on Chinese investments in selected sectors, marking a reset of economic ties, Reuters reported. The countries have also agreed to improve border management and reopen cross-border trade.

Trade between China and India reached a record $155 billion in 2025.