Kolkata: China Eastern Airlines will arrive from Kunming shortly after midnight on April 19, marking a return of the carrier after six years. The airline will operate six flights a week, operating on all days other than Wednesday.This will be the third direct flight to China from Kolkata since the Shanghai Cooperation Summit attended by PM Narendra Modi that signalled a turnaround in relations between the two nations after it hit rock bottom following the Galwan Valley military standoff in 2020. IndiGo has a daily flight to Guangzhou and plans to start a daily flight to Shanghai from the city from March 29.According to the airline, the Kunming-Kolkata flight MU 555, operated with a Boeing 737 aircraft, will arrive in Kolkata at 12.10 am on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The return flight MU 556 will take off at 1.10 am and reach Kunming at 6.20 am.While the return of China Eastern and reconnection with Kunming will be music to the ears of traders, travel agents expect the flights to also get decent traffic to Beijing and other Chinese cities as well as onward traffic.“China Eastern offers very competitive rates to far east and the US west coast. At a time when flying over the Gulf has become a challenge due to the Iran war, many may opt to fly China Eastern to travel to the US,” said Travel Agents Association of India chairman (east) Anjani Dhanuka. A return ticket to San Francisco on China Eastern typically costs around Rs 1-1.2 lakh.Dhanuka also expects travellers to Japan and Korea as well as Australia to use China Eastern for competitive fares.China Eastern Airlines last operated from Kolkata on March 19, 2020. The airline first started operations on the Kolkata-Kunming sector 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.“The return of China Eastern will 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.
