India-China flights to resume after five years from Oct. 26, Pg12

Key Highlights:

• Direct flights between India and China will resume on October 26, 2025, after a five-year suspension.
• IndiGo will initiate daily flights from Kolkata to Guangzhou.
• Air India is expected to start flights to Shanghai before the end of the year.
• The Indian government had announced the resumption of tourist visas for Chinese nationals in July.

Detailed Insights:

• Direct flights were suspended in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and heightened tensions along the Line of Actual Control.
• The resumption aims to facilitate people-to-people contact and normalize bilateral exchanges between India and China.
• Air China has sought permission to connect Beijing with Delhi and later Mumbai.
• The suspension of direct flights significantly impacted small traders who relied on connecting flights via third-country hubs.
• India's inbound tourism is at 9.5 million, still lagging behind pre-COVID levels of 11.5 million.

Key Concepts Involved:

• Bilateral Relations: Diplomatic, economic, and cultural interactions between two countries.
• Line of Actual Control (LAC): The de facto border between India and China.