Daijiworld Media Network - Kolkata
Kolkata, Mar 30: IndiGo airline on Monday, March 30, launched its daily direct flight connecting Shanghai and Kolkata, marking a significant step in enhancing air connectivity between India and China.
The IndiGo 6E flight was inaugurated by Indian Consul General in Shanghai, Pratik Mathur. On the occasion, Mathur highlighted the growing momentum in bilateral ties, noting increased confidence reflected through expanding air connectivity and strengthening economic links between India and the region.
Indian carriers such as IndiGo and Air India have begun connecting Shanghai with major Indian metro cities, including New Delhi and Kolkata. With this development, Kolkata becomes the second Indian metro after New Delhi to be directly linked with Shanghai, China’s commercial capital.
Officials also indicated that Air China is planning to launch a direct Beijing–New Delhi flight from April 21.
The new Shanghai–Kolkata route is expected to boost development in India’s northeast region as well. Mathur noted that Kolkata and Shanghai share strong historical ties, recalling that Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore had visited Shanghai in 1913, 1923, and 1931.
He added that enhanced connectivity would further promote people-to-people exchanges between eastern India and eastern China, led by Kolkata and Shanghai respectively.
Flight operations between India and China resumed in October last year after a five-year suspension triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic and prolonged border tensions in eastern Ladakh.
IndiGo currently operates flights from Kolkata to Guangzhou and Delhi to Guangzhou, while China Eastern Airlines has resumed its Shanghai–Delhi services.
The normalisation of India-China relations gained momentum following meetings between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Kazan in 2024 and later on the sidelines of the SCO summit in Tianjin.
In addition to restoring flights, both countries have initiated steps to improve ties, including India resuming the issuance of tourist visas to Chinese nationals in July last year.