China’s ‘Warm Welcome’ To Resumed Flights From Kolkata After Pandemic Gap

Direct commercial flights between the two nations have resumed after a five-year break when IndiGo Airlines’ flight carrying 176 people from Kolkata made a safe landing at Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport in China on Monday morning. Yu Jing, the spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in India, welcomed the travellers with open arms on the social media site X. “Indigo Airlines flight 6E1703 reached Guangzhou, China, safely on the morning of October 27. “Greetings from China,” Yu Jing wrote in her message. The Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International (NSCBI) Airport’s Airport Director posted a video of the IndiGo flight taking off after it left Kolkata Airport at 10:07 PM on Sunday.

At 4:05 AM today, the Airbus A320neo arrived at Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport after departing. Facilitating trade, tourism, and interpersonal relationships is the goal of the relocation. IndiGo will run nonstop flights between Guangzhou and Kolkata every day. The Shanghai-Delhi route will resume with three weekly flights on November 9, while additional flights between Delhi and Guangzhou begin on November 10. The airline declared earlier this month that it will be one of the first to start operating again between the two nations after the COVID-19 ban. Using Airbus A320neo aircraft, the airline announced in a press release on October 2 that it would begin daily, nonstop flights between Kolkata and Guangzhou on October 26.

The restart of direct flights between the two countries was greeted as a “very important day” for India-China relations by Qin Yong, the Chinese Deputy Consul General in Kolkata. “Today holds great significance for the relationship between China and India. The bilateral relations have significantly improved after five years of suspension. At a short ceremony on Sunday at the airport, Qin Yong stated, “We have been anticipating this for a long time, and it is very important for our bilateral relations.” A passenger, airport officials, and airline personnel attended a ceremonial lamp burning to commemorate the flight.

The “first fruit” of the recent high-level agreement between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, according to the Chinese envoy, is the restart of flights. “From the Chinese side, the bilateral relation with India is very important and in past years, the meeting between our leaders has shown common consensus, and today the resumption of the direct flight is the first fruit we got after the two leaders’ agreement,” said the Deputy Consul General on Sunday. Along with representatives from the Airports Authority of India (AAI) and IndiGo Airlines, Airport Director Dr. PR Beuria referred to the event as a “great moment” and emphasised the importance of the new route.

“Passengers, airline operators, and airport officials lit the lamp to officially launch the trip. The maiden aircraft, which will be run by IndiGo as a regular daily non-stop service, has 176 passengers on board,” he stated. “The Indian government has taken a fantastic step. Additionally, we are offering all facilities as the airport authorities. The flight will be ordinary. Only IndiGo is currently in operation,” the airport director continued. Southern China’s Guangzhou is widely recognised as a major hub for international manufacturing and export logistics. Resuming connectivity from India opens up new trade, business, and tourism prospects while meeting the increasing demand for passenger and cargo transit between China and India.

(With Inputs From ANI)

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