China Southern Daily Guangzhou to Delhi Flights Start Sept 21

China Southern Airlines said on Saturday, September 12, that it will resume a daily nonstop between Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport and Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi on September 21, restoring its India flying after a six-year gap. Global Times, citing the carrier, reported one daily Boeing 737-series round trip under flight numbers CZ359 and CZ360. Confirm the live seat on China Southern’s booking site.

Travelers who need this city pair can treat September 21 as the first operating day and check the live inventory before connecting over another hub. For how airline schedule changes usually show up in booking tools, start with Deep Arrival’s airline guides.

Daily Timetable and Aircraft for the Restart

The Saturday notice is a schedule travelers can actually use. CZ359 is the Guangzhou departure in the mid-afternoon, with a New Delhi arrival in the early evening. CZ360 is a late-evening Delhi departure that reaches Guangzhou before dawn the following calendar day. Those clock times come from the carrier’s Saturday briefing as reported by Global Times, not from a third-party timetable scrape.

The same report says the route will be a Boeing 737-series operation, one round trip a day. A June 16 notice from the Foreign Affairs Office of Guangzhou Municipal Government, based on China Southern’s official social post, identified the type as a Boeing 737-8 and listed tickets as already on sale. Treat the Saturday 737-series wording as the current aircraft family and the June 737-8 note as the more specific type the airline posted earlier. Aircraft swaps still happen on new long thin routes, so confirm the metal in the booking path before you pay for a seat that only works on a widebody.

The June city notice listed CZ360’s Delhi departure at 8:00 pm. Saturday’s carrier update moved that departure to 8:20 pm. Use the later time unless the airline’s own booking engine shows something newer. Airport names are fixed: Guangzhou Baiyun on the Chinese side and Indira Gandhi International on the Indian side.

Restored India-China Air Links Around This Flight

China Southern is the third major Chinese carrier to restore India service, following China Eastern and Air China, according to Global Times. Air China restarted Beijing to Delhi on April 21, three times a week in that report. China Eastern restarted Kunming to Kolkata on April 18 after bringing Shanghai to Delhi back in November 2025.

India Today placed Saturday’s notice in the same recovery: Air India restored New Delhi to China flying in February 2026, and India’s Ministry of External Affairs had already confirmed that direct air services were coming back. Business Standard said flights stayed off through the eastern Ladakh standoff, which it dated as ending in October 2025. Saturday’s airline notice also landed as Xi arrived in New Delhi for the BRICS summit. That explains the timing. It does not change the booking date.

Indian carriers are already in the corridor. Global Times said IndiGo launched daily Kolkata to Shanghai on March 29 after restoring Kolkata to Guangzhou and starting Delhi to Guangzhou, and that Air India planned a five-weekly Delhi to Shanghai nonstop in September. Those are separate tickets. They matter because a traveler comparing Guangzhou with Shanghai or Beijing now has more than one dated option.

Tickets, Airports, and Booking Checks

If you need Guangzhou and Delhi on or after September 21, search CZ359 and CZ360 first, then compare Air China, China Eastern, IndiGo, and Air India on your dates. China Southern said the restart lifts its South Asia program above 100 weekly flights across eight round-trip routes. That is a network claim, not a promise that every South Asia city gained a seat this week.

Guangzhou Baiyun is the airline’s home hub, so the flight is a southern China spoke, not a one-off charter. Delhi is a late-evening origin on the return, which helps a same-day evening departure and hurts anyone who needs a daylight arrival in Guangdong. A 737-series cabin is a single-aisle product, not the widebody cabins some travelers expect on China to India routes.

The June Guangzhou city notice is the on-record statement that tickets were already for sale. Saturday’s report did not repeat a fare. Check China Southern’s own site for a live seat, then read stay length, change fees, and whether the ticket is valid only on CZ metal.

Connecting Over Guangzhou or Delhi

This is not a United States nonstop. For U.S. travelers the question is whether Guangzhou is a cleaner Delhi connection than a Gulf, European, or other Chinese hub on the same dates. The home hub works if your inbound arrives with time for the 3:35 pm CZ359 departure. It fails if you land after that bank or cannot meet the China transit rules for your passport.

Deep Arrival’s guide to China’s visa-free transit window is the place to check the hour limit, eligible passports, and the third-country ticket test. That rule is not an Indian visa. Saturday’s airline notice did not change Delhi entry rules.

IndiGo or Air India tickets do not automatically reissue onto CZ359 or CZ360. Compare elapsed time and bag rules for late September rather than the novelty of a restored flight number. China Southern’s Guangzhou Changsha Addis Ababa flights from October 12 are a separate African routing, not a Delhi substitute.

Open Items Before the First Flight

Saturday’s notice did not publish a fare table, a cabin map, or a statement that the 737-8 assigned in June is guaranteed through the winter. It also did not say whether the daily frequency holds through the next schedule season or only through the initial restart. Treat September 21 as the first day in the current plan, then recheck the airline’s timetable if you are booking into October or later.

Independent Indian coverage, including India Today and Business Standard, matches the September 21 date and the six-year gap. It does not independently reprint the minute-by-minute timetable. For those clock times, the load-bearing source is the carrier’s Saturday announcement as reported by Global Times. If China Southern’s booking engine later shows a different departure, the booking engine wins.

The diplomatic framing around the BRICS visit is real context and not a booking switch. Xi’s presence in New Delhi on September 12 does not by itself put a seat on CZ359. The seat appears when the flight is loaded and ticketed. Until you see a confirmable reservation, keep a backup on another restored India-China flight or a connection that already operates daily.