Kolkata: China Eastern Airlines will resume direct flights between Kolkata and Kunming from April 18, 2026, marking the restoration of a key international link that had remained suspended since the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to the airline’s announced schedule, flight MU555 will depart Kunming at 23:55 and arrive in Kolkata at 00:10 (next day) after a journey of 2 hours 45 minutes, operating six days a week except Tuesday. The return service, MU556, will leave Kolkata at 01:10 and reach Kunming at 06:20, operating six days a week except Wednesday. The route will be served by a Boeing 737 aircraft, with all timings in local time.
The Chinese carrier had halted operations on the sector in March 2020, with its last departure from Kolkata recorded on March 19 that year. The suspension coincided with the global shutdown of air travel triggered by the pandemic.
China Eastern was the first airline to connect Kolkata with Kunming in October 2007, and the route quickly gained traction among traders and business travellers using Kunming as a gateway to other Chinese cities.