Photo: Courtesy of IndiGo

Indian airline IndiGo on Tuesday announced the launch of daily direct flights between Kolkata and Shanghai, which will start on March 29. 

The announcement followed the recent reinstatement of IndiGo's services to Guangzhou, highlighting the airline's focus on improving connectivity and enabling smoother travel between the two countries, according to a statement the company sent to the Global Times.

Shanghai, China's premier global financial center and a major innovation hub, is an essential addition to the airline's network. With continued growth in exports from India to China in 2025-2026, including marine products, leather goods, and specialized textiles, direct air connectivity will further strengthen trade flows between China and India, said the statement. 

The expansion of routes has come amid improving bilateral ties in recent months.

China and India agreed to maintain the momentum of bilateral ties, a consensus came from talks between visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and his Indian counterpart Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, the Xinhua News Agency reported on August 19, 2025. 

Chinese Ambassador to India Xu Feihong said in February that trade between the two countries hit a record $155.6 billion in 2025, up 12 percent year-on-year. India's exports to China grew 9.7 percent, reflecting the enormous potential of economic and trade cooperation.

Xu noted that India had resumed the issuance of tourist visas to Chinese citizens, and direct flights between the two countries had been reinstated, facilitating mutual personnel exchanges.

More direct flights hold positive significance for further stabilizing the momentum of China-India relations, Qian Feng, director of the Research Department at Tsinghua University's National Strategy Institute, told the Global Times on Tuesday, adding that this also addresses market demand. 

Qian noted that routing through third countries had previously raised trade and logistics costs. The growth in bilateral trade and the expanding flow of goods between the two countries — together with the spillover effects generated by the launch of direct air links with major Chinese cities such as Shanghai and Guangzhou — have encouraged Indian carriers to open more direct routes, he said.

This not only facilitates personnel exchanges but also represents a more practical measure to reduce supply chain costs and support travel for technology companies and the manufacturing sector, Qian added. 

On November 9, 2025, China Eastern Airlines flight MU563, carrying 248 passengers, departed from Shanghai Pudong International Airport bound for New Delhi, India, the first time for a domestic airline to resume the connection between the Chinese mainland and India after a five-year hiatus. 

On October 9, 2025, regarding news that China and India would resume direct flights before the end of the month, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said that it was also a positive move to facilitate friendly exchanges between the Chinese and Indian people, totaling more than 2.8 billion.

China is ready to work with India to view and handle bilateral ties from a strategic and long-term perspective, become good-neighborly friends and partners that help each other succeed to better benefit the two peoples, and make due contributions to maintaining peace and prosperity in Asia and beyond, Guo said.

Vinay Mlalhotra, global head of sales with IndiGo, said that this addition to the network will play an important role in facilitating bilateral trade and is expected to boost tourism and promote greater cultural exchange between the two countries, according to the statement from IndiGo on Tuesday.