China Eastern Airlines was the first to connect Kolkata to Kunming on Oct 30, 2007, which quickly became one of the most popular sectors, with businessmen and traders using the carrier to travel to Kunming and then onwards to the rest of China.While most international carriers returned after the pandemic, Chinese carriers, including China Eastern Airlines, were held up due to frosty relations between the two countries amid heightened tensions following the Galwan Valley military standoff in 2020. Only recently did the two countries move to improve trade and diplomatic engagement.Following a thaw in ties last year after Prime Minister Narendra Modi attended the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit, China Eastern Airlines resumed flights between Delhi and Kunming on Nov 9, 2025. Now, five months later, it intends to touch down in Kolkata.“The proposed direct flight between Kolkata and Kunming could be a significant boost for the travel trade and business connectivity in eastern India. Direct air access will make China a far more viable destination for Indian leisure and business travellers who currently depend on multiple connections,” said Travel Agents Federation of India chairman (east) Anil Punjabi.His counterpart in the Travel Agents Association of India, Anjani Dhanuka, felt the resumption of flights to Kunming would open up opportunities for outbound tourism as well as MICE. “We will also be able to attract Chinese tourists, as they are the biggest community of travellers in the world now,” he said.Kolkata was the first Indian city to be reconnected with China post the SCO Summit when IndiGo Airlines launched the Kolkata-Guangzhou flight on Oct 26, 2025. That flight consistently recorded high loads.IndiGo also announced plans to start a flight to Shanghai from March 29. Travel agents welcomed the connectivity with Kunming and said they were confident of good loads on all three flights.Kolkata airport authorities are trying to get back another carrier that used to operate to China prior to Covid but did not return since. Cathay Pacific and sister carrier Cathay Dragon ran regular flights between Kolkata and Hong Kong until the pandemic disruption.
