India’s largest carrier IndiGo touched down in Guangzhou on Tuesday morning, completing the first non-stop commercial flight between the Indian capital and southern China in more than five years. Flight 6E 1701, an Airbus A321neo carrying 217 passengers, was welcomed with a water-cannon salute and lion-dance ceremony at Baiyun International Airport.
The new service operates daily, departing Delhi at 00:40 and arriving Guangzhou at 07:15; the return leg leaves at 08:45 and reaches Delhi at 12:05, timed for onward European and West-Asia connections. Fares started at INR 22,999 (about US$275) round-trip, undercutting competing one-stop itineraries via Bangkok or Singapore by 30 percent.
![IndiGo Inaugurates Daily Delhi–Guangzhou Service, Restoring Capital-to-Pearl-River Corridor]()
IndiGo’s Chief Executive Pieter Elbers told reporters that cargo demand from electronics exporters and pharmaceutical firms tipped the business case. The route follows the airline’s Kolkata–Guangzhou restart on 26 October and comes amid thawing diplomatic ties signalled by the restoration of direct air rights at vice-foreign-minister level in August. Chinese tour operators are already packaging “Golden Triangle + Greater Bay Area” itineraries for group travel starting Lunar New Year.
For corporate mobility teams, the Delhi–Guangzhou flight re-opens a fast lane between two key manufacturing hubs, cutting typical door-to-door travel time by eight hours. China visas for Indian nationals still require in-person biometrics, but the Embassy in New Delhi confirmed that K-Visa and M-Visa (business) processing times have dropped to five working days to support the route’s launch.
Travel risk managers should note that IndiGo will use Guangzhou’s 24-hour visa-free transit desk for some transfer passengers headed to Shenzhen or Hong Kong, so ensuring compliance with China’s 72/144-hour transit rules is essential.
The new service operates daily, departing Delhi at 00:40 and arriving Guangzhou at 07:15; the return leg leaves at 08:45 and reaches Delhi at 12:05, timed for onward European and West-Asia connections. Fares started at INR 22,999 (about US$275) round-trip, undercutting competing one-stop itineraries via Bangkok or Singapore by 30 percent.
IndiGo’s Chief Executive Pieter Elbers told reporters that cargo demand from electronics exporters and pharmaceutical firms tipped the business case. The route follows the airline’s Kolkata–Guangzhou restart on 26 October and comes amid thawing diplomatic ties signalled by the restoration of direct air rights at vice-foreign-minister level in August. Chinese tour operators are already packaging “Golden Triangle + Greater Bay Area” itineraries for group travel starting Lunar New Year.
For corporate mobility teams, the Delhi–Guangzhou flight re-opens a fast lane between two key manufacturing hubs, cutting typical door-to-door travel time by eight hours. China visas for Indian nationals still require in-person biometrics, but the Embassy in New Delhi confirmed that K-Visa and M-Visa (business) processing times have dropped to five working days to support the route’s launch.
Travel risk managers should note that IndiGo will use Guangzhou’s 24-hour visa-free transit desk for some transfer passengers headed to Shenzhen or Hong Kong, so ensuring compliance with China’s 72/144-hour transit rules is essential.
