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Air India has restarted its Shanghai–Delhi route after six years, enhancing connectivity for trade and tourism. IndiGo and China Eastern have also resumed services. The inaugural Shanghai–New Delhi flight departed today from Shanghai Pudong International Airport, carrying more than 230 passengers.
Air India on Sunday resumed direct Shanghai–Delhi flights after nearly six years, following the suspension of services in early 2020. The airline will operate the route four times weekly with its Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner aircraft, featuring modernised cabins and enhanced onboard services, according to a statement.
The inaugural Shanghai–New Delhi flight departed today from Shanghai Pudong International Airport, carrying more than 230 passengers, an official release said.
Schedule
It announced the schedule for its Delhi–Shanghai flights. Flight AI352 from Delhi to Shanghai departs at 1200 hrs and arrives at 2020 hrs, while the return flight, AI351 from Shanghai to Delhi, departs at 2200 hrs and arrives at 0315 hrs the following day.
Consul General Pratik Mathur reacts
“The resumption of direct flights between Shanghai and New Delhi is a tangible expression of the renewed momentum in India-China engagement. Enhanced air connectivity is essential for facilitating trade, tourism, academic exchanges and people-to-people contacts, particularly between India and East China. We are pleased to see Air India restoring this important link,” Consul General Pratik Mathur stated.
The Consulate General of India in Shanghai remains committed to supporting initiatives that enhance connectivity and foster cooperation in trade, investment, tourism, education, and cultural exchange, the release mentioned.
Meanwhile, IndiGo began operating flights from Kolkata to Guangzhou and Delhi to Guangzhou from November 10, 2025, while Chinese carrier China Eastern restarted its Shanghai–Delhi services in November last year.
Flight operations between the two countries had been suspended since 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and were further delayed because of the over-four-year border standoff in eastern Ladakh, which concluded in October last year.
The normalisation of India–China relations followed two meetings between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping: first at Kazan, Russia, in 2024, and then on the sidelines of the SCO summit in Tianjin last year.
Besides restoring flights, India and China have taken several steps to normalise their relations.
In July, India resumed issuing tourist visas to Chinese citizens, which had been suspended following the military standoff along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh that began in May 2020.
The two nations have also undertaken a range of people-focused measures to reset ties, including the resumption of the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra, visa facilitation, and the reopening of direct flights, which restarted in October.
(With inputs from PTI)
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