India and China will resume direct flights between their two countries this month after a five-year suspension, officials said, with bookings opening on Friday.
Direct flights between the world’s two most populous countries were suspended during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 and were not resumed as tensions grew between Beijing and New Delhi over border disputes.
Relations between the Asian rivals have since thawed, and their leaders met last month for the first time in seven years.
Following technical discussions, “it has now been agreed that direct air services connecting designated points in India and China can resume by late October”, an Indian government statement released on Thursday said.
“This agreement of the civil aviation authorities will further facilitate people-to-people contact between India and China, contributing towards the gradual normalisation of bilateral exchanges,” it said.
Indigo, India’s largest commercial operator, said on Thursday it would start direct daily flights between Kolkata and Guangzhou from October 26 and later expand operations to New Delhi.