By Admin 
Direct flights between India and China are starting again from today. IndiGo flight 6E1703 will take off for Guangzhou from Kolkata’s Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport at 10 pm on 26th October. At the same time, Delhi-Guangzhou route will also be started from November 9. This step marks the formal return of air connectivity between the two countries after five years. This flight tonight is not only a journey in the sky, but also a sign of a new diplomatic beginning, where relations broken after Galwan now seem to be returning on the runway.
During his meeting with President Xi Jinping in Tianjin on August 31, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said that the resumption of direct flights is under consideration. After this, India turned the pages of diplomacy in such a way that now the direct flight is towards China. After the Galwan Valley clash in June 2020, relations between the two countries reached their lowest level since the 1962 war. After several rounds of military and diplomatic talks, both sides withdrew troops from many disputed areas of LAC.
The tension between the two countries had increased a lot. Then in October 2023, an agreement was reached on the last disputed points like Depsang and Demchok. Shortly after this, many decisions were taken to improve relations in the Modi-Xi talks in Kazan. In recent months, there were steps in the process of normalizing relations such as the resumption of Kailash Mansarovar Yatra. Now the resumption of direct flights is being considered a major link in this process.
Who will benefit from direct flights?
The commencement of India-China flights will provide relief to passengers, businessmen and students. Business delegations will get direct routes. Indian students going to China will save both time and money. Apart from this, there will be convenience in medical and religious journeys (Kailash Mansarovar). Because of this, there is hope of increase in import-export. The aviation sector estimates that if positive response is received, flights to various cities of China can also be started from Mumbai, Bengaluru and Chennai in the coming months.
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