China's domestically-produced C919 passenger jet landed at Lanzhou Zhongchuan International Airport in northwest China's Gansu Province on Monday, marking its first commercial flight to a high-plateau airport.
The plane operated by China Eastern Airlines from Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport arrived at the airport in Lanzhou, a provincial capital sitting at an elevation of over 1,940 meters, officially launching the daily round-trip flight between Shanghai and Lanzhou.
As the key hub on the ancient Silk Road, Lanzhou's inclusion into the C919 routes network will not only offer passengers the opportunity to fly on China's domestically developed large passenger aircraft, but also inject fresh momentum into the western region's opening-up efforts and industrial upgrading. The route will further gather valuable data for the aircraft to continuously improve its performance.
As the first customer and operator of the C919, the Shanghai-based China Eastern Airline now operates 13 C919 jets on 15 routes that connect 13 Chinese cities.
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.
The aircraft conducted its first commercial flight from Shanghai to Beijing in May 2023, marking its official entry into the civil aviation market. The Shanghai-Beijing route became a regular service in January 2024.
China's homegrown C919 aircraft launches first commercial flight to high-plateau airport
