The ARJ21 regional jet, from Chinese manufacturer COMAC, reached another milestone, the first regular flight to a high-altitude destination.
The task again fell to Chengdu Airlines, its launch customer, which completed a flight between Kashgar and Tashkurgan on July 2
The city in the Xinjiang region sits at 3,258 meters (10,689 feet) on the edges of a mountain range averaging 4,000 meters in elevation.
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With its mountainous terrain in the east, China has several cities at high altitude, requiring aircraft that can operate at airports where the air is thinner.
Although the ARJ21 is not an aircraft designed for this flight profile, COMAC plans to place the C919 “Plateau Variant” on the market, with a shorter fuselage, for 140 passengers, and the ability to operate at high altitude and hot weather.
24 high-altitude airports
According to the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC), high-altitude airports are considered to be those at 2,438 meters or higher.
As of 2023, there are a total of 24 high-altitude airports in operation across the country, distributed across the southwest, northwest and central-south regions, with 12 airlines operating with Airbus A319, A330 and Boeing 737-700 jets.
Chengdu Airlines established three bases in the Xinjiang region – Turpan, Yining and Kashgar – and deployed nine ARJ21 aircraft to fly around 40 routes at 24 airports.
One of the flights marked the ARJ21’s debut at a destination in Central Asia recently.