• Source:JND
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In a major development, India and China agreed to resume direct air services-- nearly five years after forces of both sides were involved in a deadly military clash that took the lives of at least 20 Indian personnel. The development came as Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri visited Beijing, signalling a thaw in relations between the nuclear-enabled neighbours.

"They agreed in principle to resume direct air services between the two countries; the relevant technical authorities on the two sides will meet and negotiate an updated framework for this purpose at an early date," according to the statement released by the Ministry of External Affairs following Misri's bilateral meeting with his counterpart Wang Yi.

 

The news of the direct flight came as a big relief to the Indian students and businessmen as they had to take a long flight to reach Beijing. According to the official data, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, there were approximately 23,198 Indian students studying in China-- a majority of them are pursuing medical degrees. However, the number plummeted to nearly 8000-10,000 following the Coronavirus emergence in China. Besides, the unavailability of direct flights between the two nations also contributed Indian students to looking for other study destinations.

India-China flights

Direct India-China flights peaked in December 2019, with a total of 539 scheduled flights by the likes of IndiGo, Air India, China Southern, China Eastern, Air China and Shandong Airlines, Reuters quoted data from aviation analytics firm Cirium shows. Chinese carriers scheduled 371 of those flights, more than double the 168 by India's airlines. Flights were halted four months later as the pandemic escalated. Except for a smattering of COVID repatriation flights, they have not resumed even though India lifted COVID restrictions on international air routes a year later and China lifted all COVID travel measures in early 2023.

Connecting flights to China

Travellers change planes either in Hong Kong, which has a separate aviation regulator and border controls from the rest of China, or in hubs like Dubai or Singapore. This has lengthened the India-China journey from less than six hours to upwards of 10, handing business - including lucrative through traffic to the United States - to carriers like Emirates, Singapore Airlines and Cathay Pacific. The recovery in Chinese overseas travel is lagging due to rising costs and difficulties in securing visas for the world's top spenders on international tourism and airlines.

How are Indians reaching China after the closure of direct flights?

As there were no direct flights between India and China, students and others had to take connecting flights-- thus rerouting their 8-hour journey to more than 24 hours. Sometimes, connecting flights to China take Indian students over 36 hours amid weather and technical issues with flights.

India-China travel costs  

As of now, Indians are reaching China via Singapore. According to Alternative Airlines-- a platform which compares fares of different flights-- an Air India flight costs over Rs 64,000 for a January 29 flight whereas a Thai Airlines flight cost over Rs 70,000 for the same day.

However, the commencement of direct flights between the two world's most populous countries would reduce flight prices significantly. 

Also Read: India And China Set To Resume Direct Flights, Mansarovar Yatra And Relax Visa Rules