Several times over the past year or so, China’s government and airlines have asked India’s civil aviation authorities to re-establish direct air links.
| Photo Credit: B. Velankanni Raj
China is pressing India to restart direct passenger flights after a four-year halt, but New Delhi is resisting as a border dispute continues to weigh on ties between the world’s two most populous countries, officials said.
India-China relations have been tense since the biggest military confrontation in decades on their disputed Himalayan border killed 20 Indian and at least four Chinese soldiers in June 2020. Thousands of troops remain mobilised on each side.
Since the clash, India has made it difficult for Chinese companies to invest, banned hundreds of popular apps and severed passenger routes, although direct cargo flights still operate between the Asian giants.
Direct flights would benefit both economies, but the stakes are higher for China, where a recovery in overseas travel after the COVID-19 pandemic is lagging, while India’s aviation sector booms.
Several times over the past year or so, China’s government and airlines have asked India’s civil aviation authorities to re-establish direct air links, two people with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters, with one saying China considers this a “big issue”.
“We hope the Indian side will work with China in the same direction for the early resumption of direct flights,” China’s Foreign Ministry told Reuters in a statement last week, adding that resuming flights would be in both countries’ interests.
But a senior Indian official familiar with India-China bilateral developments said of Beijing’s desire to resume flights: “Unless there is peace and tranquillity on the border, the rest of the relationship cannot move forward.”
Indian airlines are holding discussions with New Delhi, while Chinese carriers are talking to their government about resuming direct routes, CEO Pieter Elbers of Indigo, India’s largest airline, told Reuters.
India’s external affairs and civil aviation ministries did not respond to requests for comment.
Beijing has repeatedly protested India’s ramped up scrutiny of Chinese businesses since 2020. Chinese smartphone giant Xiaomi told India’s government this year that “confidence building” measures were needed as component suppliers were wary about setting up in India, citing compliance and visa issues.
