Delhi: China Eastern Airlines resumed its Shanghai–Delhi passenger service on Sunday, ending a five-year suspension of the route. The inaugural flight, MU563, departed from Shanghai Pudong International Airport with 248 passengers and recorded an occupancy rate of 95 per cent.
The carrier became the first mainland Chinese airline in 2025 to restart direct passenger flights between China and India. The service links two major commercial hubs and is expected to facilitate trade, corporate travel, and cultural interaction between the two countries.
The Shanghai–Delhi connection will operate three times a week, on Wednesdays, Saturdays, and Sundays, using an Airbus A330 aircraft. China Eastern stated it may increase flight frequency in line with demand. Plans are also under way to reopen the Kunming–Kolkata route and introduce a Shanghai–Mumbai service.
Resumption of direct flights follows a gradual normalisation of air traffic between the two countries. Passenger services restarted on October 26 when an IndiGo aircraft from Kolkata landed in Guangzhou, ending a hiatus that began in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Flights had remained suspended during the prolonged military confrontation in eastern Ladakh, which ended in October of the previous year.
IndiGo is scheduled to begin a daily Delhi–Guangzhou service on November 10, expanding the available travel options between the two nations.
India–China relations had deteriorated to their lowest point since the 1962 border conflict after the clashes in the Galwan Valley in June 2020. Following multiple rounds of diplomatic and military dialogue, troops were withdrawn from several positions along the Line of Actual Control in eastern Ladakh. A disengagement arrangement covering Depsang and Demchok was finalised in October last year.
Soon after the agreement, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping met in Kazan, Russia, where they agreed to take steps aimed at stabilising bilateral relations. In recent months, measures to rebuild engagement have included the resumption of the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra and the restoration of commercial flight connections.
Founded in 2016, The Traveller Trails is a print and digital magazine and a trusted source for current news, trends, analysis, opinions, interesting blogs, videos and exclusive interviews from every corner of the world.
