The restart of passenger flights between India and China presents an opportunity to reclaim market share and rebuild Asia’s intra-regional connectivity, International Air Transport Association (IATA) has said.
Services were halted in early 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic and remained suspended amid prolonged border tensions. These will resume with IndiGo launching flights between Kolkata and Chengdu on October 26 and Delhi and Chengdu from November 10.
On Saturday China Eastern Airlines announced it will launch thrice weekly flights between Shanghai and Delhi starting November 9. The service will be operated with Airbus A330 aircraft and will also offer passengers onwards connections to Japan, Korea and Taiwan.
“Direct flights will reduce travel time and costs for business travelers, students, and tourists, supporting broader and deeper socioeconomic ties as well as accelerating economic activity on both sides. The restart will boost Asia’s international traffic further, which has seen a robust recovery since travel restrictions began to be lifted in 2022,” IATA has said.
Passenger traffic
Before the disruption, India–China passenger traffic was growing at double-digit rates and had doubled between 2011 and 2019, reaching nearly 1 million annual passengers.
Over half a million passengers flew between India and China (two way) in fiscal 2025 and the number is set to grow with the planned resumption of flights.
In the absence of non-stop flights, passengers between India and China are transiting via Hong Kong, Singapore, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur and other cities.
Hong Kong and Singapore are the largest transit hubs for travel between India and China with each having a market share of around 30 per cent in FY 2025.
Published on October 19, 2025
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