New Delhi, 30 March (H.S.):

Budget carrier IndiGo started daily direct flights between Kolkata and Shanghai on Sunday marking the city's second nonstop link to China and set to boost trade and tourism between the two giants.

The service which began March 29 expands IndiGo's international footprint using A320neo aircraft to meet rising demand for business and leisure travel a company statement said on Monday.

This route adds to IndiGo's China push after restarting Kolkata-Guangzhou flights and launching Delhi operations bringing its weekly China flights to 21.

Now cities like Delhi Mumbai Hyderabad Bengaluru Chennai Ahmedabad Pune Jaipur and Bhubaneswar connect seamlessly via Kolkata to Shanghai the airline noted.

Global sales head Vinay Malhotra said the daily flights from Kolkata (CCU) flight 6E 1709 depart 9:45pm arriving Shanghai (PVG) at 4:40am next day. The return 6E 1710 leaves 5:40am reaching Kolkata by 9:05am.

Bookings open via www.goIndiGo.in the app or travel partners with perks like UpFront Flexi seats free snacks and hassle-free changes.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar