India and China resume direct flights after 5 years

The flight landed in Guangzhou on Monday morning, a milestone in the thawing of bilateral ties.

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IndiGo flight 6E 1703 from Kolkata landed in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou on Monday, carrying about 180 passengers.

Flights between the two countries were first suspended during the Covid pandemic in early 2020 and did not restart after a deadly clash in a disputed Himalayan border area escalated tensions.

But the two countries have been steadily rebuilding relations, and last year they reached a landmark agreement on border patrols.

The Indian government had said the resumption of direct flights would "facilitate people-to-people contact" and help "the gradual normalisation of bilateral exchanges" in a statement announcing the development earlier this month.