Beijing: Air India on Sunday launched the Shanghai-Delhi direct flight, resuming its services between the two cities after a gap of about six years.

The inaugural Shanghai-New Delhi flight departed from Shanghai Pudong International Airport, carrying over 230 passengers on board the Boeing 787 aircraft, the Indian Consulate in Shanghai said in a press release.

The resumption of Air India flights comes after a gap of nearly six years and represents a significant milestone in normalising bilateral air connectivity following the suspension of services in early 2020.

The Consul General of India in Shanghai, Pratik Mathur, who has seen off the passengers travelling by the inaugural flight, welcomed the resumption of Air India’s direct flight services marking a major step forward in restoring people-to-people, business and institutional connectivity between India and China.

Speaking on the occasion, Mathur said, “The resumption of direct flights between Shanghai and New Delhi is a tangible expression of the renewed momentum in India-China engagement.”

“Enhanced air connectivity is essential for facilitating trade, tourism, academic exchanges and people-to-people contacts, particularly between India and East China. We are pleased to see Air India restoring this important link,” he said.

Air India will operate the route four times a week using its Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner aircraft, featuring modernised cabins and enhanced on-board services, the press release said.

The restored service reflects the growing demand for travel between the two countries and the steady recovery of cross-border mobility.

It will also support commercial, educational and cultural exchanges between India and the Yangtze River Delta region, one of China’s most economically dynamic clusters, the press release said.

The Consulate General of India in Shanghai remains committed to supporting initiatives that strengthen connectivity and deepen cooperation across trade, investment, tourism, education and cultural exchanges, it said.

India and China resumed flights between different cities of the two countries in October last year.

IndiGo operates flights from Kolkata to Guangzhou and Delhi to Guangzhou starting November 10, 2025.

Chinese airline China Eastern resumed flight operations from Shanghai to Delhi in November last year.

The flight services between the two sides were suspended following the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. They were not restored in view of the over-four-year border face-off in eastern Ladakh, which ended in October last year.

The process of normalisation of India, China relations followed two summits between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping at Kazan in Russia in 2024 followed by a second meeting on the sidelines of the SCO summit in Tianjin last year.

Besides flights, India and China have initiated a series of measures to normalise their relations.

In July, India resumed granting tourist visas to Chinese nationals.

Issuance of visas to Chinese nationals was suspended following the start of a military stand-off along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh that began in May 2020.

The two countries also initiated several people-centric steps to reset their ties, which included the resumption of the Kailash Manasarovar Yatra, direct flights and visa facilitation.

The direct flights between the two countries resumed in October.