The green signal from the Centre on resumption of flights between India and China from October 26 after a gap of five years comes even as the two sides “remain engaged” on revising the bilateral air service agreement, according to a senior government official.

On Thursday (October 2, 2025), the Ministry of External Affairs announced that India and China had agreed to resume direct flights from October 26, coinciding with the start of the winter schedule. Soon after, IndiGo said it would launch daily Kolkata–Guangzhou services from October 26, and add daily flights from New Delhi to the Chinese trade hub once regulatory approvals are in place. Five Chinese carriers have approached the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) for passenger and cargo flights.

“We remain engaged on air service agreements,” a senior government official said when asked if the two sides had agreed on a revised pact covering seat capacity and destinations allowed to the airlines of the two countries. The official added that they didn’t want these discussions to further delay the resumption of flights. In a statement on Thursday, the MEA said the two countries have been holding technical-level discussions since early this year, including on the air service agreement, as part of the government’s strategy for the “gradual normalisation of relations”.

Apart from IndiGo, Air India plans to resume flights to Shanghai “before the end of the year”. Government officials said Akasa also intends to fly to China. The DGCA has granted permission for passenger flights to Chinese carriers China Eastern (Shanghai–Delhi; five weekly flights). Others who have applied in the passenger category are Air China and Shandong. Two Chinese airlines — China Southern and Sichuan Airlines — have also sought permission for cargo flights.

The Indian carriers have sought “modernisation” of the entire air services agreement, said another industry source without elaborating on the specifics.

The current bilateral agreement allows the airlines of each side access to six destinations and not more than 42 flights in a week. Chinese carriers operated 42 direct flights every week, including Air China flying from Beijing to Mumbai four times a week and five times to Delhi. China Southern Airlines operated twice daily service to Guangzhou from Delhi. China Eastern Airlines operated eight flights a week, including a daily Delhi-Shanghai flight. Shandong Airlines flew four times a week to Delhi from Kunming. 

RwandAir of Rwanda, too, had the right to offer flights between Guangzhou and Mumbai thrice a week. Among Indian carriers, Air India, which was not yet privatised, flew to Shanghai five times a week from New Delhi, while IndiGo operated daily flights between Chengdu-Delhi and Guangzhou-Kolkata.