Wings of reconnection: India-China direct flights resume after 5-year gap

KOLKATA: India and China are reconnecting with the resumption of direct flights after a 5-year gap! The IndiGo flight 6E1703 took off from Kolkata’s Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport, marking a significant improvement in bilateral relations.

The IndiGo flight departed from Kolkata Airport at 10.07 PM, with the Airport Director of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International (NSCBI) Airport sharing a video of the flight take off.The Airbus A320 departed for Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport, carrying 176 passengers and is scheduled to arrive at 4:05 AM.The move aims to facilitate trade, tourism, and people-to-people connections. IndiGo will operate daily non-stop flights between Kolkata and Guangzhou. Additional flights between Delhi and Guangzhou start on November 10, while the Shanghai-Delhi route will resume on November 9.The resumption of direct flights signals an improvement in the bilateral relations between the two countries and is meant to facilitate trade and people-to-people connections. The flights were earlier suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic, bringing in heavy travel restrictions.(AGENCIES)