China's 1st homebuilt regional passenger jet finishes test flights

China's first homebuilt regional passenger jetliner ARJ21 completed its test flights with the maximum takeoff and landing altitude on Thursday at Daocheng Yading Airport in Southwest China's Sichuan province, now the highest airport worldwide.

The ARJ21 aircraft has fully verified its takeoff and landing capability at super-high plateau airports, after taking a half-month of test flights and ground tests at Daocheng Yading Airport, which is located 4,411 meters above sea level.

The successful tests indicate that the operational range of the ARJ21 aircraft can cover all of the super-high plateau airports. Thus, the aircraft model has built a solid foundation for its launch of more plateau routes in the future, said its manufacturer, Commercial Aircraft Corp of China.

Due to rarefied air, complex terrain and volatile weather conditions, high-altitude airports post higher requirements for aircraft performance and operational support capability.

China has the biggest number of high-altitude airports, including 19 super-high plateau airports, and they are mainly in western China.