(Image Credit: X/@ChinaSpox_India)
Beijing/New Delhi, October 27 (IANS) China on Monday extended a warm welcome to the passengers of an IndiGo Airlines flight which landed in Guangzhou on Monday, making it the first direct flight between both countries after a gap of over five years.
"On the morning of October 27, IndiGo Airlines flight 6E1703 arrived at Guangzhou, China safe and sound. Warm welcome to China," Yu Jing, spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in India, wrote on X.
Direct flights between Kolkata and China’s Guangzhou city resumed on Sunday as the first flight took off from Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International (NSCBI) Airport late on Sunday.
“Direct flights between China and India are now a reality. Kolkata-Guangzhou launches today. Shanghai-New Delhi starts Nov 9, flying three times a week,” the spokesperson posted on X.
The decision to resume direct flights between the two countries was made earlier this year when Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping met on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit, paving the way for a broader reset in flight operations.
Following the recent diplomatic initiatives, private carrier IndiGo announced that it will resume daily, non-stop flights connecting Kolkata to Guangzhou starting October 26. The low-cost airline had also announced new daily direct flights between New Delhi and China's Guangzhou from November 10. The airline said that the route will be operated using Airbus A320 aircraft.
Meanwhile, China Eastern Airlines has announced the resumption of flights on its India route with direct flights between Shanghai and Delhi starting from November 9, giving a fresh momentum for people-to-people exchanges and economic and trade collaboration between New Delhi and Beijing. The service will operate three times weekly -- on Wednesdays, Saturdays, and Sundays.
Earlier on October 24, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Guo Jiakun said that the resumption of direct flights between India and China is the latest progress in implementing the consensus reached between PM Modi and Xi Jinping during their meeting in Tianjin. He expressed China's willingness to work with India to handle bilateral ties from a a strategic and long-term perspective and promoting the continued healthy and stable development of bilateral relations.
"The resumption of direct flights between mainland China and India is the latest progress in earnestly implementing the important consensus reached by the two leaders during their Tianjin meeting. It is also a positive measure to facilitate friendly exchanges between the more than 2.8 billion people of China and India," Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Guo Jiakun said during a regular media briefing on Friday.
"China is willing to work with India to view and handle China-India relations from a strategic and long-term perspective, promote the continued healthy and stable development of bilateral relations, better benefit the two countries and their peoples, and make due contributions to maintaining peace and prosperity in Asia and the world," he added.
