Low-cost giant IndiGo on 28 April relaunched its Delhi–Guangzhou daily service, the first time the route has operated since February 2024 pandemic-era capacity caps. NewsBytes reports that flag-carrier Air China has also returned to Delhi with thrice-weekly Beijing flights priced from USD 523 round-trip. The reboot comes on the heels of March’s restart of Kolkata–Shanghai by IndiGo and China Eastern’s resurrection of Kunming–Kolkata, signalling a broader thaw in aviation ties after years of strained bilateral relations. Industry data show India–China seat capacity is still only 38 percent of its 2019 peak, but forward bookings for May are running 62 percent higher than the same period last year.
![IndiGo and Air China Reopen Key India–China Routes as Relations Thaw]()
Amid the resurgence, travellers and corporates looking to simplify the paperwork can lean on VisaHQ (https://www.visahq.com/india/), which offers end-to-end assistance for Chinese tourist, business and student visas as well as India re-entry permits, bundling form filling, appointment scheduling and passport logistics into one convenient dashboard.
For Indian exporters of pharmaceuticals and perishables, the revived belly-cargo lift is a welcome alternative to costlier Hong Kong trans-shipments. The Confederation of Indian Industry estimates that each additional widebody frequency on the Delhi–Beijing sector cuts air-freight rates by 4-6 percent. Student and business demand is also expected to rebound. China re-activated on-campus visa interviews at its New Delhi embassy this month and is processing X-visas within five working days. Meanwhile, India’s Ministry of Home Affairs has instructed FRROs to clear pending Chinese work-permit renewals within 15 days to support electronics and auto joint ventures. Travel-programme managers should verify airline-specific transit rules—IndiGo’s Guangzhou flights operate under a wet-lease arrangement that limits checked-baggage through-tagging— and advise travellers to carry hard copies of hotel confirmations, which Chinese immigration continues to request during random inspections.
Amid the resurgence, travellers and corporates looking to simplify the paperwork can lean on VisaHQ (https://www.visahq.com/india/), which offers end-to-end assistance for Chinese tourist, business and student visas as well as India re-entry permits, bundling form filling, appointment scheduling and passport logistics into one convenient dashboard.
For Indian exporters of pharmaceuticals and perishables, the revived belly-cargo lift is a welcome alternative to costlier Hong Kong trans-shipments. The Confederation of Indian Industry estimates that each additional widebody frequency on the Delhi–Beijing sector cuts air-freight rates by 4-6 percent. Student and business demand is also expected to rebound. China re-activated on-campus visa interviews at its New Delhi embassy this month and is processing X-visas within five working days. Meanwhile, India’s Ministry of Home Affairs has instructed FRROs to clear pending Chinese work-permit renewals within 15 days to support electronics and auto joint ventures. Travel-programme managers should verify airline-specific transit rules—IndiGo’s Guangzhou flights operate under a wet-lease arrangement that limits checked-baggage through-tagging— and advise travellers to carry hard copies of hotel confirmations, which Chinese immigration continues to request during random inspections.
