India-China direct flights to resume this month, says MEA

Direct flights between India and China are set to resume by late October 2025 after a gap of over five years as the governments of both countries have reached an agreement on the issue, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) announced on Thursday (October 2).

The MEA further stated that the agreement was reached following elaborate discussions between the civil aviation authorities of the two countries that started earlier this year.

“Following these discussions, it has now been agreed that direct air services connecting designated points in India and China can resume by late October 2025, in keeping with the winter season schedule, subject to the commercial decision of the designated carriers from the two countries and fulfilment of all operational criteria,” it added.

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Govt's push for boosting China ties

The MEA further stated that as part of the government's approach towards gradual normalisation of relations between India and China, the civil aviation authorities of the two countries have been engaged in technical-level discussions on resuming direct air services and on a revised Air Services Agreement. The agreement of the civil aviation authorities will further facilitate people-to-people contact between India and China, contributing towards the gradual normalisation of bilateral exchanges, stated the MEA.

“Since earlier this year, as part of the Government's approach towards gradual normalisation of relations between India and China, the civil aviation authorities of the two countries have been engaged in technical-level discussions on resuming direct air services between the two countries and on a revised Air Services Agreement,” it added.

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Will boost people-to-people contact

According to the MEA, the agreement of the civil aviation authorities will further facilitate people-to-people contact between India and China, contributing towards the gradual normalisation of bilateral exchanges.

The relations between India and China had soured after a military clash along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in 2020. Following the four-year standoff, the two sides reached an understanding in October 2024 for reducing tensions and rebuilding faith.

The relations improved over the past four months after several high-level meetings, including the one between PM Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Russia.

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The backdrop

Earlier, both countries, on January 27 this year, had announced the resumption of the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra from this summer. The announcement had then come after Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri had met Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Sun Weidong in Beijing.

Until 2020, the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra was organised annually between June and September through the two official routes of Lipulekh Pass (since 1981) in Uttarakhand and Nathu La (since 2015) in Sikkim.

The two sides had also agreed to hold an early meeting of the “India-China Expert Level Mechanism” to discuss the sharing of hydrological data and cooperation on transboundary rivers. The Brahmaputra, Indus and the Sutlej originate in Tibet and flow through India. The development had come then amid India’s concerns about a dam — Beijing claims it to be the world’s biggest — being built by China upstream on the Brahmaputra.