Relief news for India-China travel. China Eastern Airlines will launch daily non-stop flights between Delhi-Shanghai from January 2. This decision has been taken amid strong demand and improvement in relations between the two countries.
Delhi-Shanghai Flight: After many years of waiting, a big and relief news has come out regarding air travel between India and China. China Eastern Airlines has announced that it is going to start daily non-stop flights between Delhi and Shanghai from January 2. This decision has come at a time when India-China air connectivity is slowly getting back on track and passenger demand is increasing rapidly.
Why the sudden decision to start daily flights?
Actually, the Delhi-Shanghai route was restarted in November 2025 after a long break of five years. Initially these flights were running only three times a week. But after an overwhelming response from passengers and the travel industry, the airline changed its strategy and decided to start direct daily flights.
What will be the flight time?
According to China Eastern’s winter schedule, flight MU564 will take off from Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport at 7:55 pm and arrive at Shanghai’s Pudong International Airport at 4:10 am the next morning. Whereas, the return flight MU563 will depart from Shanghai at 12:50 pm and reach Delhi at 5:45 pm.
Can more routes also open?
The airline has made it clear that it wants to further strengthen its presence in India. In this series, plans are also being made to restart the Kolkata-Kunming route and launch a new route between Mumbai-Shanghai. This can provide huge benefits to both travel and business between India and China.
What direct benefit will passengers get from this?
China Eastern is now also offering interline connectivity. This means that passengers from 39 cities in India can easily book travel via Delhi to Shanghai and further to China and other countries of the world on a single ticket. This facility is considered very useful especially for business travelers and tourists.
Are there signs of improvement in India-China relations?
It is noteworthy that in 2020, India-China relations had become quite tense after COVID-19 and Galwan Valley clashes. The border dispute continued in eastern Ladakh for more than four years. But in October last year, disengagement agreements were reached at the last friction points like Depsang and Demchok. After this, the meeting between PM Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping gave a better direction to relations.
What is going to change next?
In the last few months, both the countries have taken several steps to improve relations, including the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra and now the expansion of flight services. Experts believe that the start of daily flights is not only a travel facility but also a sign of gradual warming in India-China relations. Overall, the commencement of daily non-stop flights between Delhi-Shanghai from January is being considered an important and positive step for passengers, businessmen and relations between the two countries.