Owing to robust demand for flights between China and India, China Eastern Airlines on Tuesday announced the commencement of daily non-stop flights between New Delhi and Shanghai from January 2, 2026. Looking ahead, China Eastern Airlines said it will expand its footprint in India, with plans to relaunch Kolkata–Kunming flights and introduce a new route Mumbai–Shanghai in the near future.
“These initiatives underscore the airline’s vision to provide Indian travellers with greater access to China and beyond, while supporting trade, tourism, and cultural exchange between the two nations,” said China Eastern Airlines in a statement.
The rapid expansion follows the successful relaunch of the Delhi-Shanghai route in November 2025 after a five-year hiatus. While the route was initially planned for a phased increase from three to five weekly flights, the “overwhelming response from both passengers and trade partners” has prompted China Eastern to move directly to daily flights.
Besides China Eastern, Indian airlines are also aggressively expanding their presence in the Chinese market after the two nations approved the resumption of direct flights following a long hiatus. IndiGo led the revival with the launch of direct services between Kolkata and Guangzhou in late October. Air India is set to restart non-stop flights between Delhi and Shanghai (PVG) from February 1, 2026.
Direct flights between India and China had been suspended since early 2020, initially due to the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequently amid heightened tensions following the Galwan Valley military standoff that year. The strained relations persisted for several years and only recently have the two countries moved to improve trade and diplomatic engagement.
Industry experts believe that the resumption of direct flight services between India and China presents major growth opportunities by making travel, trade and cross-border business more efficient for both countries.
China Eastern also offers interline connectivity, allowing travellers to book single-ticket journeys to and from 39 Indian cities via Delhi to Shanghai and onward to destinations across its extensive global network.
During the winter schedule, Flight MU564 will depart Delhi at 19:55, arriving in Shanghai Pudong at 04:10 the following day. The return flight MU563 will depart Shanghai at 12:50 and land in Delhi at 17:45. Operated by an Airbus A330-200 wide-body aircraft, the service offers a 18 lie-flat business-class seats and 245 economy-class seats.