NEW DELHI, Sept 12 (Askume) – India and China discussed resuming direct passenger flights between the two countries at the earliest, Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu Jinjarap said on Thursday, indicating that robust air travel between the two countries could resume within four years.
Askume reported in June that China urged India to resume direct passenger flights, but New Delhi resisted as the border standoff was damaging relations between the Asian rivals.
Relations between the two nuclear-armed neighbours with a largely undemarcated Himalayan border have been tense since military clashes along the Himalayan border in 2020 left 20 Indian and four Chinese soldiers dead.
India has since increased scrutiny of Chinese investment, banned hundreds of popular apps and cut passenger routes, but direct cargo flights still link the world’s two most populous countries.
Jinjlap said he met Song Xiong, Director of the Civil Aviation Administration of China, on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Civil Aviation Ministerial Conference in New Delhi.
The two discussed “further strengthening civil aviation cooperation between the two countries, particularly promoting early resumption of scheduled passenger flights,” Naidu said in a post on X.
Resuming direct flights would benefit both countries, but the risks are higher for China, whose tourism recovery following the Covid-19 pandemic has been less encouraging than India’s booming aviation industry.
