Canadian plane producer Bombardier said China had demonstrated confidence in its CRJ200 regional jets after lifting a ban imposed after one of the aircraft crashed killing 54 people last month.

"Bombardier confirms that the General Administration of Civil Aviation of China (CAAC) has advised operators to resume Bombardier CRJ200 scheduled passenger service in China," the Montreal-based firm said in a statement.

"The CAAC has conducted thorough maintenance and safety checks of the CRJ200 fleet in China and their decision to reinstate scheduled service clearly demonstrates their confidence in the Bombardier CRJ200s safety and performance capabilities."

China's official Xinhua news agency earlier reported that 18 CRJ200 planes had passed safety checks and would soon be allowed to resume flying.

China has about 20 CRJ200 aircraft owned by seven different airlines. Xinhua did not mention the fate of the other two planes.

Aviation authorities ordered the immediate grounding of all CRJ planes produced by Canada's Bombardier a day after the crash in Inner Mongolia on November 21.

The China Eastern Airlines jet plunged into a lake soon after take-off from Baotou city. No reason for the crash has been made public, although officials have ruled out terrorism or sabotage.

It was the deadliest aviation disaster in China since May 2002 when 112 were killed after their plane plunged into the ocean near the northeastern port city of Dalian.

(Agencies)

passenger service : （客運服務）