India, China to resume air services this month

India and China are set to resume direct flights between selected cities after a gap of five years, with the external affairs ministry saying on Thursday that the move will contribute to the gradual normalisation of bilateral relations.

- Rezaul H Laskar and Neha LM Tripathi

PM Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping met in Russia in October 2024

The resumption of direct air services -suspended since 2020figured in several meetings held after Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping met in the Russian city of Kazan in October 2024, two days after an understanding to end the standoff on the Line of Actual Control (LAC), and decided to revive several mechanisms to normalise relations.

The civil aviation authorities of India and China were engaged in technical discussions on resuming direct flights and ona revised air services agreement since earlier this year, the external affairs ministry said in a statement. This was part of the government’s “approach towards gradual nor-malisation” of bilateral relations.