China Eastern resumes Shanghai–Delhi flights after 5-year break

After a five-year hiatus, China Eastern Airlines (CEA) has resumed operations to India, with its first flight MU563 departing from Shanghai Pudong International Airport at 12:48 pm CST on Sunday for Delhi. The aircraft, carrying 248 passengers, landed at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport at 5:32 pm.

China Eastern has become the first mainland carrier in 2025 to restart passenger operations on the China-India route. The outbound flight recorded a load factor exceeding 95 percent, reflecting strong demand on the sector that had remained suspended since 2020.

The Shanghai Pudong-Delhi service will be operated using an Airbus A330 wide-body aircraft, with three weekly flights scheduled on Wednesdays, Saturdays, and Sundays. The airline said it plans to gradually increase frequency depending on passenger response and market recovery.

Indian airline IndiGo will begin its daily Delhi-Guangzhou service from November 10. China Eastern has also announced plans to expand its India network by resuming the Kunming-Kolkata route and launching a new Shanghai Pudong–Mumbai connection. The airline said these routes would strengthen bilateral air links and support growing business and cultural exchanges.

Describing the Shanghai-Delhi corridor as one of the most strategically important routes between the two countries, the airline said the service would deepen cooperation in trade, investment, education, and tourism. “As major economic hubs, Shanghai and Delhi’s direct connection will play a key role in promoting comprehensive exchanges between China and India,” CEA said in a statement.

The resumption follows IndiGo’s revival of services between the two countries last month. On October 26, an IndiGo aircraft from Kolkata landed in Guangzhou, marking the first direct commercial flight from India to mainland China since the pandemic. IndiGo, which was among the first carriers to restart the route, has indicated plans to add more destinations to its China network in the coming months.

With both Chinese and Indian airlines re-establishing their presence on the route, aviation experts see the reopening of the Shanghai-Delhi sector as a positive signal for bilateral ties and for the travel and business communities in both countries.