According to CCTV reports, starting today (August 12), China National Aviation's flight route from Beijing to Ulaanbaatar, the capital of Mongolia, will be operated by the domestically produced large aircraft C919. This is the first regular international passenger flight route operated by the C919, marking the official launch of international regular commercial flight operations with domestically produced large aircraft.
According to the Science and Technology Daily, China National Airlines Flight CA723/CA724 operates daily between Beijing Capital International Airport and Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. The outbound flight departs at 3:15 PM and arrives at 5:15 PM, while the return flight departs at 6:30 PM and lands at 8:35 PM. This is the first regular international commercial route using domestically produced airliners that is open to ordinary passengers and part of the global ticketing system. It also signifies that the C919 has completed its training phase for large-scale operation in China, officially beginning a new journey of regular cross-border passenger service.
For a long time, it has been believed in the industry that airworthiness certifications from Europe and America are the only barriers for domestic aircraft to enter international markets. However, civil aviation experts interviewed by Science and Technology Daily stated that the establishment of such routes is a beginning for domestic large aircraft to gain global recognition. This means that China has completed a complete industrial cycle involving aircraft research and development, domestic large-scale operation, and regular cross-border passenger transport. This has broken the long-term monopoly of Boeing and Airbus in the global operation of airliners. In the future, as more cross-border routes are established and overseas operational data continues to accumulate, the global civil aviation community's perception of “Chinese large aircraft” will eventually shift from observation to trust.
Tian Linchuan, an assistant researcher at the School of Aeronautics and Astronautics of Shanghai Jiao Tong University, pointed out that the established bilateral airworthiness recognition between China and Mongolia has redefined the global civil aviation entry process. "We no longer need to wait passively for the lengthy approval procedures in Europe and America to operate in compliance. This means that airworthiness certification in Europe and America is merely an additional requirement for internationalization, and not the only rigid barrier for domestic aircraft to enter the international market."
He stated that the continuous cross-border operations of the C919 will fully establish a complete set of workflows for air traffic control coordination, dispatch scheduling, overseas ground service, aircraft supply, and entry-exit coordination. This will generate a large amount of real-world operational data, forming a replicable international operating standard, which will accumulate practical experience for future development of routes in Southeast Asia and Central Asia.
According to China Commercial Aircraft Corporation, as of July 31, aircraft equipped with the C919, operated by Air China, China Eastern Airlines, and China Southern Airlines, have served 57 routes across 25 cities, carrying more than 7.4 million passengers. The production capacity is steadily increasing, which also supports the simultaneous development of domestically produced aircraft. China Commercial Aircraft Corporation has clearly stated its goal to achieve an annual production capacity of 200 aircraft by 2029.
