China Southern Airlines will restart its direct Guangzhou-New Delhi service from September 21
China Southern Airlines will resume direct flights between Guangzhou and New Delhi from September 21, nearly six years after the route was suspended, according to a report by Chinese state-backed newspaper Global Times.
The announcement comes on the day Chinese President Xi Jinping is in New Delhi for the Brics Summit and ahead of his bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
China and India are arranging a meeting between Xi and Modi on Saturday, China’s Foreign Ministry said on Friday. Beijing has said it wants to strengthen communication and cooperation with India while managing differences between the two countries.
China Southern will operate one daily flight on the Guangzhou-New Delhi route using Boeing 737-series aircraft, Global Times reported.
Flight CZ359 will depart Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport at 3:35 pm local time and arrive at Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi at 7 pm. The return flight CZ360 will leave Delhi at 8:20 pm and reach Guangzhou at 4:15 am the following day.
The airline said the resumption would make travel easier for tourists and students and support trade between China and India, according to Global Times.
More from BusinessThird major Chinese airline to restore India service
China Southern is the third major Chinese airline to bring back direct services to India after Air China and China Eastern Airlines.
Air China resumed its Beijing-New Delhi service in April, marking the return of direct flights between the two capitals after nearly six years. The route currently operates three times a week.
China Eastern Airlines resumed its Kunming-Kolkata service on April 18. The carrier had earlier restarted its Shanghai-New Delhi service in November 2025.
The return of services by Chinese carriers follows the gradual reopening of direct air links between India and China after flights were disrupted during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Indian airlines have also expanded their services to China.
Air India resumed flights between New Delhi and China in February and is set to restart its Delhi-Shanghai service this month, with five flights a week.
IndiGo launched daily non-stop flights between Kolkata and Shanghai in March, after restoring its Kolkata-Guangzhou service and launching flights between Delhi and Guangzhou.
The developments are rebuilding direct air connectivity between the two countries after a prolonged interruption.
What China Southern’s return means for India-China ties
The resumption of the Guangzhou-New Delhi route comes as India and China seek to improve ties after years of tension.
Relations deteriorated sharply after the 2020 border clash in eastern Ladakh, which also led to restrictions on travel and other forms of people-to-people contact. Since then, the two countries have taken steps to reduce tensions and restore some economic and travel links.
Reuters reported on Saturday that India-China relations have entered a cautious thaw, with direct flights, business travel and trade links gradually recovering. China was India’s largest source of imports in the 2025-26 fiscal year, with goods imports worth about $132 billion.
The restoration of flights is significant because direct connectivity supports business travel, tourism, education and movement of professionals between the two countries.
Qian Feng, director of the Research Department at Tsinghua University’s National Strategy Institute, told Global Times that the return of flights by major Chinese airlines reflected an improvement in bilateral relations.
He said stronger people-to-people exchanges could help facilitate cooperation and build greater mutual trust between India and China, according to the newspaper.
Xi-Modi meeting comes amid cautious economic thaw
Xi’s visit to India is his first in seven years and comes at a time when New Delhi and Beijing are trying to stabilise ties while economic relations remain complicated.
Reuters reported earlier this week that the Xi-Modi meeting could help set the direction for the next phase of bilateral relations, although businesses in both countries continue to face regulatory, visa and investment hurdles.
The two leaders are expected to discuss bilateral issues during their meeting on the sidelines of the Brics Summit.
