China Southern Resumes Guangzhou-Delhi Flights After Six Years

China Southern Airlines announced it will resume regular passenger flights between Guangzhou and New Delhi starting September 21, 2026, ending a six-year suspension of the route. The announcement, made on Saturday, September 12, came hours before Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in New Delhi for the 18th BRICS Summit, where he is scheduled to hold a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The airline stated it will operate more than 100 weekly flights across eight roundtrip routes in South Asia following the resumption. The move is part of a broader, gradual restoration of direct air links between India and China, which were suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent geopolitical tensions, including the Doklam and Galwan standoffs. The resumption follows earlier steps by other carriers. Air China resumed its Beijing-Delhi service in April 2026, and China Eastern Airlines restarted its Kunming-Kolkata route on April 18. Indian carrier IndiGo also launched daily nonstop flights between Kolkata and Shanghai on March 30, and later expanded its China network with services from Delhi.