China's domestically developed C919 large passenger aircraft began flight transport service on two new routes on Sunday.
At 11:19 on Sunday, a C919 aircraft smoothly landed at the Shenyang Taoxian International Airport in Shenyang City, the capital of northeast China's Liaoning Province, from Shanghai in east China some 1,000 kilometers away, marking the C919's first commercial flight in northeast China. The airport celebrated the occasion with a water salute.
"The seats are very spacious, and the flight experience is excellent," said a passenger.
"Flying on a homegrown plane feels especially smooth. I took the inaugural C919 flight to Chengdu, and unexpectedly, within a year, more than a dozen routes have been launched. I think the airline operations in our country are particularly impressive," said another passenger.
The other new air route opened on the day for the C919 is the one from northwest China's Xi'an City to south China's Guangzhou City about 1,400 kilometers away.
The Xi'an-Guangzhou service became the third domestic air route operated from Xi'an to use the C919, following China Eastern Airlines' earlier introduction of this aircraft on its Xi'an-Beijing and Xi'an-Shanghai routes. This also means that the Xianyang International Airport in Xi'an has become a major airport in China in terms of flights performed by the C919.
Notably, China Eastern Airlines in January 2025 started using the C919 jetliner for regular flights between Shanghai in east China and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region in the country's south -- which is the airline's first scheduled commercial flight service to Hong Kong using the C919.
The C919 is a narrow-body passenger aircraft with a maximum capacity of 192 seats. It is China's first self-developed trunk jetliner, built in accordance with international airworthiness standards and featuring independently registered intellectual property rights.
China initiated the C919 project in 2007, and it was developed by the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China, Ltd. (COMAC). The first C919 aircraft rolled off the production line in Shanghai in November 2015.
China's homegrown C919 aircraft begins to serve two new domestic air routes
Some Iranians in Türkiye are crossing back over the border, driven by worry and desperation, as a nationwide communications blackout in Iran has left them cut off from their loved ones.
Protests have erupted in many Iranian cities since Dec. 28. They initially began with Tehran bazaar merchants demonstrating against the sharp devaluation of the national currency rial, and soaring inflation, before spreading to other cities. The unrest has led to casualties among both security forces and civilians.
At the Turkish-Iranian border, many are returning with no certainty about what awaits them, filled instead with questions and growing fear for those on the other side of the border.
"I went to Van yesterday for internet. I urgently needed to use the internet. I got it done. Now I'm heading straight back. There are protests everywhere. We can't get any news. We can't communicate with our families. And it's not just me, there are many Iranians outside the country who can't reach their families," said Feriste, an Iranian citizen.
With communications blacked out across Iran, those outside the country feel powerless to check on the situation back home. For some, this silence has prompted them to return across the border, even as tensions continue to rise.
"We can't get any news. There is no internet. Everything is shut down. I want to search. I want to find out. I want to see my brother. I'm going to see my family," said Husnu, an Iranian citizen.
"I work in Türkiye, and I have no news from Iran at all. I'm going back because I'm worried about my family. It's been days since I last heard from them, and because I'm worried, I'm returning to Iran now. Of course, we are concerned about our safety. We don't know what awaits us there," said another Iranian.
With protests escalating and government blackouts still in place, many Iranians are caught between staying in safety abroad and risking everything to reconnect with their families.
"We had to come to Türkiye because we couldn't reach our families. Schools were closed already. All official institutions were shut down. We have no information about other cities either, because there is no communication network there. There is no television, no internet. We can't even check Twitter," said Nazlican, another Iranian citizen.
Iranians in Türkiye return home, fearing for their families amid unrest in Iran
Iranians in Türkiye return home, fearing for their families amid unrest in Iran
