Mamata cancels China trip as meetings not confirmed
Kolkata, June 22: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday cancelled her eight-day trip to China as the scheduled political meetings "at the appropriate level" under the Exchange Programme between the two countries were not confirmed.
Banerjee, who was supposed to leave for China on Friday evening, termed the cancellation "unfortunate", but said without a confirmation of those meetings, her visit to China was pointless.
"Till yesterday, everything was going on well, but unfortunately, the Chinese side could not confirm the political meetings.
"It has now been intimated by our Ambassador in China that the political meetings at the appropriate level under the Exchange Programme could not be confirmed. Therefore, the purpose of my visit with a delegation to China under the Exchange Programme is of no use," she tweeted.
"Although our Ambassador tried his best to make the programme a success, non-confirmation of the political meetings as proposed by the Indian Ambassador to China, at the last moment, has unfortunately compelled us to cancel the visit," she said.
The Chief Minister, however, hoped that the incident would not impact the relationship between the two countries.
"I wish the continuation of the friendship of India and China in the days to come and it should strengthen further in the interest of both the countries."
Banerjee was requested by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj in March to take part in the Exchange Programme between the Government of India and the International Department of the Communist Party of China.
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Air India Express introduces late-night Bengaluru–Mangaluru service
International services at M’luru cancelled on March 7
Mangaluru: Air India Express will introduce a late-night daily flight service on the Bengaluru–Mangaluru–Bengaluru sector starting March 10, 2026.
According to the sources, flight IX 5971 will depart from Bengaluru at 9.25 pm and arrive in Mangaluru at 10.40 pm. The return flight, IX 5972, will depart from Mangaluru at 11.10 pm and reach Kempegowda International Airport, Bengaluru, at 12.20 am.
The additional service will operate daily and will remain in effect until March 28, 2026.
Meanwhile, Air India Express has cancelled all its scheduled international flights from Mangaluru International Airport (IXE) on March 7 due to the ongoing crisis in the Middle East.
The Bengaluru–Mangaluru sector already has multiple daily services. Apart from Air India Express, IndiGo also operates flights on this route.
