India, China flights return: visas, routes and smart deals

India China flights are returning to the skies after more than four years of limited direct connectivity. The Indian Ministry of External Affairs and Civil Aviation have issued an official‑style announcement saying that « Direct air services connecting designated points in India and China can resume by late October 2025, » with the resumption framed around the winter schedule and remaining « subject to the commercial decision of designated carriers and fulfilment of operational criteria. »

The restart is both symbolic and practical: it restores shorter journey times, supports tourism and business links, and follows a year of stepped‑up visa facilitation and operational planning on both sides. For travellers, that means new route options, launch fares and some clear steps to take before you book.

Official timing and what the announcement means

The MEA / Civil Aviation statement set a public target of late October 2025 for the resumption of direct services, tied to the winter schedule. That timing gives airlines and airport authorities a window to secure slots, crew and ground arrangements before regular operations ramp up.

The government wording emphasises that route restarts are « subject to the commercial decision of the designated carriers and fulfilment of all operational criteria. » In practice that means regulatory clearances, bilateral slot allocations and each carrier’s network economics will determine exact frequencies and start dates.

For travellers, the implication is a staggered restart rather than a single national switch‑on: expect a handful of initial city pairs, progressive frequency increases, and occasional schedule changes as carriers assess demand.

Which routes and carriers are leading the restart

IndiGo has been among the first to publish concrete schedules: Kolkata, Guangzhou daily non‑stop flights restarting on 26 Oct 2025, and Delhi, Guangzhou listed to begin in early November (publicly listed as 10 Nov 2025). Bookings for those launch flights opened in early October 2025.

Air India has signalled plans to reintroduce Delhi, Shanghai before the end of 2025, subject to approvals, and multiple Chinese carriers , Air China, China Eastern, China Southern and others , have reportedly approached Indian airports about resuming services as capacity reopens.

Media and industry reporting has referenced bilateral planning figures such as roughly 42 flights per week per side under the revised air services arrangements, but final frequencies will reflect carrier decisions and slot availability as the winter schedule settles.

Visas, entry processes and recent policy shifts

A major practical barrier was lifted earlier in 2025: India resumed issuing tourist visas to Chinese nationals from 24 July 2025, reinstating online application channels and Visa Application Centre submission in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou. That was a key precondition for meaningful passenger traffic to return.

Reciprocal facilitation was in evidence too: Chinese missions in India issued large volumes of visas in 2025 (reported as 85,000+ visas to Indians by 9 April 2025) and eased several procedures, including some exemptions and fee adjustments for short stays and faster VAC processing.

On the arrival side, India rolled out a digital e‑Arrival/disembarkation card system from 1 Oct 2025, allowing foreign arrivals to submit arrival card data online up to 72 hours before arrival , a welcome time‑saver for China→India travellers once direct services resume.

How travel looked during the suspension and what’s changing

When direct India, China links were suspended, travellers relied on third‑country hubs , Hong Kong, Singapore, Dubai and Doha among them , which extended door‑to‑door travel times from roughly six hours on a direct flight to 10+ hours via connections. That made short business trips harder and raised the friction for leisure travel.

Passenger volumes tell the story: Chinese tourist arrivals to India peaked at about 340,000 in 2019 but fell sharply in subsequent years, dropping to only a few tens of thousands by 2022, 23 amid visa and route suspensions.

Restoring direct services is therefore not just about convenience: it’s also about unlocking broader tourism, education and business flows that were sizeable before the pandemic , monthly scheduled flights peaked at around 539 in December 2019, a useful baseline for scale if demand recovers.

Smart deals and how to catch launch fares

Airlines and banks have already rolled out promotions timed to the relaunch. IndiGo ran a « Flying Connections » sale in mid‑October advertising international fares starting at ₹8,990 for travel in Nov 2025 and early 2026, while bank co‑promotions (for example HDFC) are reported to offer instant discounts on bookings , some offers cited up to ₹6,000 off for eligible cardholders.

Online travel agencies commonly permit coupon + bank card stacking: platform coupons combined with bank partner discounts (ICICI, HDFC, Axis, etc.) can reduce the effective fare substantially on launch‑period itineraries. Check OTA checkout pages carefully for route‑specific codes and eligibility rules.

Timing is everything: launch fares and limited inventory often sell fast. Travel press advice that’s working now includes booking early on relaunched routes, combining airline sales with bank/OTA promos, and keeping hub routings as a fallback if direct seats are scarce.

Operational caveats and practical checks before you book

Industry statements repeatedly echo the same caveat: resumption is « subject to the commercial decision of the designated carriers … and fulfilment of all operational criteria. » That covers regulatory clearances, airport slots, insurance and ground handling readiness.

Before booking, consult official sources: the Indian Embassy/Consulate pages for visa and VAC instructions (if you’re a Chinese national), MEA and Civil Aviation notices for route and slot updates, the Bureau of Immigration for e‑Arrival guidance, and the airline’s own press releases and booking terms.

If you’re planning a specific trip, check refund and change policies for launch fares (many are non‑refundable or have restrictive change rules), verify transit visa requirements for hub routings, and confirm that the schedule shown at booking is the carrier‑published timetable rather than a placeholder.

Practical tips for travellers and what to expect next

Book early on newly relaunched city pairs: initial frequencies and launch inventory are limited, and fares can step up quickly as seats sell out. Use fare alerts and OTA waitlists where available.

Keep a fallback plan: if you can’t find direct seats, compare the total journey time and cost via established hubs (HKG, SIN, DXB, DOH) and include potential transit visas and overnight needs in your calculations.

Watch for promotional windows from airlines and banks: combine launch sales (like IndiGo’s advertised ₹8,990 fares) with eligible card discounts or OTA coupons. And note the IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers’ comment in launch coverage: « We are delighted to announce the resumption … We are proud to be amongst the first to resume direct connectivity to China … this will once again allow seamless movement of people, goods, and ideas. »

If you want more granular data , live weekly frequencies, current fares or the latest MEA/airline press text , I can fetch airline press releases, MEA/Civil Aviation notices and live fare checks for a given city pair and travel dates. Tell me which route and when, and I’ll pull the latest details.

With careful planning and the right stacking of launch offers and bank promos, travellers can benefit from both restored convenience and competitive prices as India China flights return to the schedule in late 2025.