Guangzhou [China], October 27 (ANI): IndiGo Airlines' flight, carrying 176 passengers from Kolkata, landed safely at Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport in China on Monday morning, marking the resumption of direct commercial flights between both countries after a five-year hiatus.

Taking to the social media platform X, the spokesperson of the Chinese Embassy in India, Yu Jing, extended a hearty welcome to the passengers.

'On the morning of October 27, IndiGo Airlines flight 6E1703 arrived at Guangzhou, China, safe and sound. Warm welcome to China,' Yu Jing said in her post.

The IndiGo flight departed from Kolkata Airport at 10:07 PM on Sunday, and the Airport Director of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International (NSCBI) Airport shared a video of the flight taking off.

The Airbus A320neo departed for Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport and arrived at 4:05 AM today.

The move aims to facilitate trade, tourism, and people-to-people connections. IndiGo will operate daily non-stop flights between Kolkata and Guangzhou. Additional flights between Delhi and Guangzhou start on November 10, while the Shanghai-Delhi route will resume on November 9 with three flights every week.

Earlier this month, the airline announced it would be among the first to resume services between the two countries following the COVID-19 suspension. In its October 2 press release, the airline said it would start daily, nonstop flights between Kolkata and Guangzhou from October 26 using Airbus A320neo aircraft.

Chinese Deputy Consul General in Kolkata, Qin Yong, hailed the resumption of direct flights between the two nations as a 'very important day' for India-China relations.

'Today is a very important day for the India-China relationship. After five years of suspension, it is a very big improvement for the bilateral relations. We expected this for a long time, and it is very important for our bilateral relations,' Qin Yong told ANI at a brief ceremony held at the airport on Sunday.

The flight was celebrated with a ceremonial lamp lighting attended by a passenger, airport officials, and airline representatives.

The Chinese envoy described the resumption of flights as the 'first fruit' of the recent high-level consensus between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

'From the Chinese side, the bilateral relation with India is very important and in past years, the meeting between our leaders has shown common consensus, and today the resumption of the direct [flight] is the first fruit we got after the two leaders' agreement,' the Deputy Consul General stated on Sunday.

Airport Director Dr PR Beuria, present at the event along with officials from the Airports Authority of India (AAI) and IndiGo Airlines, called the occasion a 'great moment' and highlighted the significance of the new route.

'The flight was inaugurated with the lighting of the lamp involving passengers, airline operators, and airport officials. There are 176 passengers on the first flight, and this will be a regular daily non-stop service operated by IndiGo,' he said.

'It is a great initiative by the government of India. And as the airport authority, we are providing every facility. It will be a regular flight. Currently, only IndiGo is operating,' the Airport Director added.

Guangzhou, in southern China, is well-known as an important global manufacturing and export logistics hub. The resumption of connectivity from India caters to the growing demand for passenger and cargo movement between India and China, unlocking new opportunities for trade, investment, and tourism. (ANI)