The Maiden Commercial Flight of China’s First Aircraft Built Domestically Set for Sunday

China’s first passenger aircraft, the C919, will make its first commercial flight on May 28. The plane has been developed by the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC) and was granted a type certificate by the Civil Aviation Administration of China last September. The initial customer is state-owned China Eastern Airlines, which will launch the plane’s first commercial flight from Shanghai to Beijing. Over 1,200 C919 jetliners have been ordered so far, according to COMAC.

The C919’s entry into the market could reduce China’s reliance on Boeing and Airbus and give them competition in the international civil aviation market. In 2020, China had 6,795 civil aircraft, mostly from Boeing and Airbus.