China Southern Airlines announces resumption of Guangzhou-New Delhi flights starting September 21

Guangzhou: China Southern Airlines announced on Saturday that it will restart regular passenger flights on its Guangzhou-New Delhi route beginning September 21, timed alongside Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to India for the BRICS summit, according to the Global Times.

The move marks the carrier's return to India after a six-year hiatus. Once operational, China Southern will operate over 100 weekly flights across eight round-trip routes in South Asia.

The development follows a broader resumption of direct air links between India and China, which were initially halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic and bilateral tensions following the Doklam and Galwan border standoffs. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) previously confirmed the return of direct flights between the two nations.

Air connectivity had already begun expanding earlier in the year:

• IndiGo launched daily, non-stop flights connecting Kolkata and Shanghai on March 30, building on its restored services from Kolkata to Guangzhou and new operations from Delhi.

• China Eastern Airlines resumed direct operations on the Kunming-Kolkata route on April 18.

• Air China restarted its Beijing-New Delhi direct route later in April, becoming the second Chinese carrier to reinstate services to India.