ISTANBUL 

China and India resumed direct flights Sunday after a five-year break, with a new daily non-stop service connecting Guangzhou and Kolkata.

India’s largest carrier, IndiGo, operated the inaugural flight from Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport (NSCBI) in Kolkata to Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport in China, carrying 176 passengers.

The Indian government said the resumption of flights will enhance “people-to-people contact” and support the “gradual normalization of bilateral exchanges.”

A Shanghai-New Delhi route will begin operations on Nov. 9 with three flights every week.

Flights between India and China were suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic and later prolonged following the June 2020 clash between Indian and Chinese troops in the Galwan Valley of the Himalayas triggered by a dispute over infrastructure and patrolling which resulted in the deaths of 20 Indian soldiers and an unconfirmed number of Chinese casualties.

Ties remained tense until an October 2024 agreement eased border tensions along the Line of Actual Control (LAC).