China Southern Airlines on Saturday (September 12, 2026) announced that it will resume regular passenger services on the Guangzhou-New Delhi route from September 21, restarting the service after a six-year suspension.
, the carrier said.
Follow BRICS Summit 2026 LIVE updates on September 12, 2026 China Southern Airlines, headquartered in Guangzhou in China's southern Guangdong province, is one of the country's major carriers.
The carrier’s announcement coincides with Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to India on Saturday (September 12) to attend the BRICS summit and hold talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on further improving bilateral relations.
Air China resumes Delhi-Beijing non-stop flight The flight services between India and China were suspended following the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and were not restored amid the over four-year military standoff between the two countries in eastern Ladakh, which ended in October last year.
The resumption of flights is part of the gradual normalisation of India-China relations following two meetings between Mr.
Modi and Mr.
Xi in 2024 and 2025.
Mr.
Xi met on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in Kazan, Russia, in October 2024, followed by another meeting during the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Tianjin in 2025.
China Eastern launches Shanghai-Delhi flight with near full capacity Following the improvement in ties, several Chinese and Indian airlines resumed flight services between cities in the two countries, including the Beijing-New Delhi route.
In March this year, IndiGo launched a daily flight between Shanghai and Kolkata, further improving air connectivity between India and China.
