An Airbus A320 of IndiGo, Photo: Urbanandsport/NurPhoto / Shutterstock Editorial / Profimedia
Direct flights between India and mainland China resumed on Sunday, after more than five years since their suspension, AFP and Agerpres report. The resumption of air travel is important for bilateral trade relations and is a sign of de-escalation between the two neighboring Asian giants.
According to flight tracking website Flightradar24, a plane of IndiGo, the number one Indian airline, took off from Calcutta's Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport at 22:00 local time (16:30 GMT) bound for Guangzhou.
Relations between India and China have been marred by military clashes in 2020 in a Himalayan border region, but in recent months the world's two most populous countries have initiated a rapprochement, which comes as India's relations with the United States deteriorate.
The resumption of direct air links favors “people-to-people contacts” and contributes to the “gradual normalization of bilateral exchanges”, the Indian government said.
Direct flights, numbering around 500 per month, had been suspended due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The world's largest countries will resume direct air travel between each other after a 5-year break
From November, flights will also operate from New Delhi to Shanghai and Guangzhou, in addition to those between India and Hong Kong which have never been interrupted.
These direct air links “will reduce logistics and transit times,” Rajeev Singh, president of the Indian Chamber of Commerce in Calcutta, told AFP.
India, which is heavily dependent on Chinese raw materials for industrial growth and exports, has a significant trade deficit with China.
The thaw between the two countries follows meetings held by their leaders in Russia last year and in China in August.
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