India, China to resume direct flights soon, after 5-year break—Could this signal a warming of ties?
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "India, China to resume direct flights soon, after 5-year break—Could this signal a warming of ties?")
Representative image Photograph: (Reuters)
The air connectivity between the two nations has been suspended since the Covid-19 pandemic. Moreover, according to the report, Indian airlines have been asked to stand ready for flights to China on short notice.
India and China are set to resume direct flights as soon as next month, after five years of no air connectivity, people familiar with the matter said, according to a Bloomberg report. This hints at a diplomatic reboot between the two countries, which might help in resetting the political ties between India and China.
The air connectivity between the two nations has been suspended since the Covid-19 pandemic. Moreover, according to the report, Indian airlines have been asked to stand ready for flights to China on short notice.
This decision will probably be announced officially during the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit, which is scheduled to be held at the end of this month (August) in China, the sources said.
After the COVID-19 pandemic, direct flights between India and China were suspended, which led to people taking indirect routes via Hong Kong or Singapore.
Moreover, this comes amid US President Donald Trump imposing massive tariffs on India, citing concerns over New Delhi buying Russian oil, which has potentially brought Russia and China closer to India. China came in support of India last week, against Trump's tariffs, saying, "India's sovereignty is non-negotiable and its foreign policy choices cannot be manipulated by other countries, no matter how significant their own ties with India are."
The Spokesperson of the Chinese Embassy in India also attached an illustration showing an elephant, representing India, and a baseball bat, representing the US tariff.
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Notably, this also comes just a day after Air India announced the suspension of non-stop flights from Delhi to Washington from September 1, citing a combination of reasons.
They stressed that the decision has been taken to ensure the integrity of the airline. The airline added that the decision is also linked to a planned shortage of aircraft as it retrofits 26 Boeing 787-8 planes.
“The suspension is primarily driven by the planned shortfall in Air India’s fleet, as the airline commenced retrofitting 26 of its Boeing 787-8 aircraft last month,” Air India said.
