IndiGo has announced that it is prepared to restart flights between India and China as soon as the necessary bilateral agreements are concluded.
“Before the Covid-19 pandemic, we operated daily flights on the India–China route. We are ready to resume services the moment both countries put the bilateral framework in place. Staying true to our entrepreneurial spirit, we continue to explore commercially viable growth opportunities,” IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers said in a statement on Thursday.
Prior to early 2020, the airline flew daily between Delhi and Chengdu, and also operated Bengaluru–Hong Kong services until February 1, 2020. All flights to China were suspended in the first quarter of 2020 due to the pandemic and global travel curbs. Air India also halted its China routes during the same period.
The pandemic was not the only factor in the prolonged suspension. Relations between New Delhi and Beijing worsened after the June 2020 Galwan Valley clash, one of the most severe border confrontations in decades, which strained ties for nearly four years.
A breakthrough came in October 2024, when both nations agreed on new patrolling arrangements along the Line of Actual Control, easing some diplomatic friction. However, direct commercial flights were still not restored.
For IndiGo, resuming China operations would mark a return to a strategically important market it exited abruptly five years ago. The airline has since been expanding aggressively in the international sector and views the India–China corridor as a key growth opportunity once political and regulatory conditions permit.
