Direct flights between China and India resumed on Sunday after a five-year hiatus, with the occupancy rate of the inaugural service reaching above 95 percent. China Eastern Airlines flight MU563, with 248 passengers on board, departed from Shanghai Pudong International Airport for Delhi at 13:02 Sunday, making the carrier the first Chinese airline this year to resume China-India direct passenger services. The route operates three round-trip flights per week, which greatly shortens passengers' travel time. Meanwhile, relying on Shanghai Pudong International Airport's convenient connecting service, passengers are also able to transit to various Chinese cities, as well as other international destinations in North America, Northeast Asia and Europe. "We've been doing business with Indian customers for over 20 years. Previously, we had to take transit flights, which took up a lot of time and was very tiring. Now with the direct flight, it's much easier to go to India, with less costs," said Liu Zhiyong, a passenger. "It's more convenient than going through different flights. From now onwards, if this flight is more frequent, it would be easier for Indians to travel to China and go back to India as well," said an Indian passenger. In the future, the airlines will open more fly routes based on feedbacks. "Based on what we observed, the seat occupation rate of the flight connecting Shanghai with Delhi is estimated to surpass 90 percent in the coming week, which indicates a strong demand on this route. Now we are planing to resume the flight connecting Kunming with Calcutta, and then launch a new route connecting Shanghai with Mumbai, to further enhance the airline network between China and India," said Wang Qian, senior manager of VIP service division with China Eastern Airlines’ ground services department. SHOTLIST: Shanghai, China - Nov 9, 2025 1. Passengers at airport; 2. Screen showing flight information; 3. Various of passengers at check-in counter; 4. SOUNDBITE (Chinese) Liu Zhiyong, passenger (partially overlaid with shot 5): "We've been doing business with Indian customers for over 20 years. Previously, we had to take transit flights, which took up a lot of time and was very tiring. Now with the direct flight, it's much easier to go to India, with less costs."; [SHOT OVERLAYING SOUNDBITE] 5. Various of Screen showing information about check-in counters; [SHOT OVERLAYING SOUNDBITE] 6. Various of Indian passengers waiting at lobby; 7. SOUNDBITE (English) Indian passenger (name not given) (partially overlaid with shot 8): "It's more convenient than going through different flights. From now onwards, if this flight is more frequent, it would be easier for Indians to travel to China and go back to India as well."; [SHOT OVERLAYING SOUNDBITE] 8. Screen showing flight information; [SHOT OVERLAYING SOUNDBITE] 9. Various of passengers lining to board plane, having ticket scanned; 10. SOUNDBITE (Chinese) Wang Qian, senior manager, VIP service division, ground services department, China Eastern Airlines (starting with shot 9/partially overlaid with shot 11): "Based on what we observed, the seat occupation rate of the flight connecting Shanghai with Delhi is estimated to surpass 90 percent in the coming week, which indicates a strong demand on this route. Now we are planing to resume the flight connecting Kunming with Calcutta, and then launch a new route connecting Shanghai with Mumbai, to further enhance the airline network between China and India."; [SHOT OVERLAYING SOUNDBITE] 11. Passengers having ticket scanned; [SHOT OVERLAYING SOUNDBITE] 12. Various of passengers walking on jet bridge; 13. Plane taking off. [Restrictions: No access Chinese mainland]