India and China Poised to Restart Direct Flights After Five-Year Freeze

India and China are preparing to resume direct commercial passenger flights, with services expected to restart as early as next month, according to people familiar with the negotiations. Indian carriers have been asked to draw up schedules for the coming winter season, while Chinese officials are coordinating with their counterparts to finalise the initial routes. The move would restore air links that have been suspended since 20 March 2020, when both governments grounded most international services during the Covid-19 outbreak. A formal announcement is likely at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit later this month, the sources said. Reinstating nonstop flights would mark a further step toward stabilising relations between the world’s two most populous nations, whose ties deteriorated after a deadly border clash in 2020. Airlines on both sides are expected to focus first on major hubs such as Delhi, Mumbai, Beijing and Shanghai, with capacity to be expanded as demand recovers.