China to resume direct flights with India after 5 years

​​​​​​​By Saadet Gokce

ISTANBUL (AA) - China Eastern Airlines will resume direct flights with India for the first time in five years on Oct. 9, according to The Economic Times.

The flights will go from Shanghai to Delhi.

India's Ministry of External Affairs stated earlier this month that direct air services between the two countries would resume after nearly five years.

The direct air services between the two Himalayan neighbors were stopped during the coronavirus pandemic.

India's largest carrier, IndiGo, also announced it would start daily direct flights between Kolkata and Guangzhou.

New Delhi and Beijing have taken steps to normalize ties after tensions escalated in 2020 when deadly clashes along the disputed border in Jammu and Kashmir resulted in the deaths of 20 Indian and four Chinese soldiers.