New Delhi: India’s largest carrier IndiGo on Monday launched a daily flight between Shanghai and Kolkata, marking a further boost to air connectivity between India and China.

The new service was formally inaugurated by Pratik Mathur, India’s Consul General in Shanghai, who described the route as a sign of growing confidence and strengthening economic ties between India and the region.

According to the Indian Consulate, Mathur met with IndiGo’s management and highlighted the positive momentum in bilateral engagement, with increasing air links reflecting improving relations.

Kolkata becomes the second Indian metro, after New Delhi, to be directly connected to Shanghai, China’s commercial hub. Indian carriers including IndiGo and Air India have in recent months expanded routes linking Shanghai with major Indian cities.

Officials also noted that Air China is set to launch a direct Beijing–New Delhi service from 21 April, further strengthening connectivity.

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Mathur said the new Shanghai–Kolkata route is expected to support development in India’s north-east and deepen people-to-people links between eastern India and eastern China. He also pointed to longstanding cultural ties between the two cities, recalling visits by Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore to Shanghai in the early 20th century.

Flight services between India and China had been suspended in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and were further delayed by prolonged border tensions in eastern Ladakh.

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Since relations began to normalise following high-level engagements between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping, both countries have taken steps to restore connectivity. These include resuming flights, restarting tourist visas for Chinese nationals, and expanding aviation links between key cities.