India and China are gearing up to resume direct passenger flights between the two countries as early as next month, going by sources cited by Bloomberg.
The sources revealed that Indian airlines have been directed to prepare flights to China at a short notice. The official announcement regarding air routes being reinstated could come closer to the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Tianjin, China, at the end of this month. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to attend the Summit.
According to reports, the Centre has asked key airlines, Air India and IndiGo, to chart flights to the neighbouring nation. Direct flight services between India and China were suspended after the Covid-19 pandemic and Galwan standoff in 2020. Twenty Indian soldiers and four Chinese personnel died in the clashes along the Line of Actual Control.
Before the clashes, over a dozen direct flights were being operated every week, connecting cities like Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Kunming with New Delhi, Mumbai, and Kolkata by key Indian operators. Besides this, Chinese operators such as Air China, China Southern and China Eastern also operated direct services to India.
Recently, India resumed tourist visas for Chinese nationals. India also appreciated Chinese cooperation for the resumption of Kailash Manasarovar Yatra. In July, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar visited China for the SCO Summit and held bilateral talks with his Chinese counterpart.
The renewed efforts to 'normalise' India-China ties come amid India's tariff tiff with the United States. US President Donald Trump has imposed a 50 per cent tariff on Indian imports, targeting India over its oil and defence purchases from Russia.