China Eastern Airlines will recommence round-trip flights between Shanghai and New Delhi starting 9 November, signaling a step towards the normalisation of India-China relations.
According to the media reports, the resumption follows an announcement made during the meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Tianjin in August, marking the restoration of direct flights between select cities after a five-year break.
Flights will operate three times a week on Wednesdays, Saturdays, and Sundays. Departing Shanghai Pudong Airport at 12:50 pm, the journey arrives at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport at 5:45 pm local time. The return service leaves Delhi at 7:55 pm and lands in Shanghai Pudong at 4:10 am the following day. Tickets for the route are now available for purchase.
In related news, IndiGo recently announced daily flights from Kolkata to Guangzhou beginning 26 October, with plans underway to introduce services between Delhi and Guangzhou.