NEW DELHI: The resumption of flight service from India to China's Guangzhou was marked by a simple, traditional ceremony at Kolkata’s Netaji Subhash Chandra Airport on Sunday night.
Airport authorities lit the traditional lamp placed on a rangoli in the midst of balloons in shades of deep purple and white to represent the shades of the Indigo airline.
The A320 Neo aircraft with good occupancy departed from Kolkata at 10 pm. This marks the resumption of flights between the two nations after a 5.5-year break as air services were stopped in early 2020 after COVID.
An airline executive told, “The passenger occupancy is almost full in the flight, which has a seating capacity of 186. The flight has a total journey time of four-and-a-half hours. It will reach Guangzhou at 4.30 am (China time). It is a daily service.”
Yu Jing, spokesperson of the Chinese Embassy in India, posted on X, “Direct flights between China and India are now a reality.” The Union Ministry of Civil Aviation had earlier this month announced that flights between India and China will resume direct air services by October end.
Kolkata airport director P R Beuria, who took part in the launch, said, “The revival of this direct route would not only strengthen business and tourism ties but also provide greater convenience to passengers travelling between the two major cities.
An official release from Kolkata airport said, “The Kolkata-Guangzhou flight will operate daily, non-stop, further reinforcing Kolkata’s position as a key international aviation hub in Eastern India.”
Indigo’s flight from Delhi to Guangzhou will start on November 10, the airline had announced.
Pieter Elbers, Chief Executive Officer, IndiGo, had earlier stated, “We are delighted to announce the resumption of daily, non-stop flights between India and mainland China. We are proud to be among the first to resume direct connectivity to China from two points in India. This will once again allow seamless movement of people, goods, and ideas, while also strengthening bilateral ties between the two of the world’s most populous countries and fast-growing economies. With this very important step, we are looking at introducing more direct flights into China.”
Air India will be resuming flights between Delhi and Shanghai soon with the launch date still getting finalised.
