Indian low-cost carrier IndiGo touched down in Guangzhou on the evening of 11 November with flight 6E 1701 from Delhi, inaugurating its second direct route to the Chinese mainland in less than a month. The airline restarted Kolkata–Guangzhou on 26 October after a five-year hiatus, becoming the first Indian carrier to return to the China market since 2019.
The new daily service links India’s political and commercial capital with South China’s manufacturing powerhouse, trimming door-to-door journey times by up to five hours compared with transiting through Bangkok, Singapore or Hong Kong. The 3,800-kilometre sector is operated with Airbus A321neos configured for both business and inbound cargo, a nod to growing e-commerce flows between the two Asian giants.
![IndiGo Opens Daily Delhi–Guangzhou Service, Deepening China–India Air Links]()
IndiGo chief executive Pieter Elbers said the carrier had seen “near-100 per cent load factors” on the restored Kolkata flight and is evaluating additional Chinese gateways such as Chengdu, Xiamen and Hangzhou. On the Chinese side, China Eastern resumed Shanghai–Delhi on 9 November and plans to reopen Kunming–Kolkata and launch Shanghai–Mumbai in early 2026.
For mobility managers the resumption is significant: before the pandemic India was China’s 10th-largest source of foreign workers and the third-largest market for Chinese outbound engineering assignments. The new flight cuts travel costs for project teams servicing electronics supply chains clustered around Guangzhou, while giving Chinese manufacturers easier access to Delhi’s booming consumer market.
Travel-policy tip: IndiGo currently offers 30 kilograms of checked baggage and permits Chinese mainland passport holders to apply for an Indian e-Business Visa online. Travellers should, however, check China’s 240-hour visa-free transit rules if routing onward via a third country.
The new daily service links India’s political and commercial capital with South China’s manufacturing powerhouse, trimming door-to-door journey times by up to five hours compared with transiting through Bangkok, Singapore or Hong Kong. The 3,800-kilometre sector is operated with Airbus A321neos configured for both business and inbound cargo, a nod to growing e-commerce flows between the two Asian giants.
IndiGo chief executive Pieter Elbers said the carrier had seen “near-100 per cent load factors” on the restored Kolkata flight and is evaluating additional Chinese gateways such as Chengdu, Xiamen and Hangzhou. On the Chinese side, China Eastern resumed Shanghai–Delhi on 9 November and plans to reopen Kunming–Kolkata and launch Shanghai–Mumbai in early 2026.
For mobility managers the resumption is significant: before the pandemic India was China’s 10th-largest source of foreign workers and the third-largest market for Chinese outbound engineering assignments. The new flight cuts travel costs for project teams servicing electronics supply chains clustered around Guangzhou, while giving Chinese manufacturers easier access to Delhi’s booming consumer market.
Travel-policy tip: IndiGo currently offers 30 kilograms of checked baggage and permits Chinese mainland passport holders to apply for an Indian e-Business Visa online. Travellers should, however, check China’s 240-hour visa-free transit rules if routing onward via a third country.
