Chinese aviation officials announced that the first new narrow-body C919 passenger aircraft scheduled for delivery, completed its first test flight.

The C919 development program was launched in 2008. Production of the prototype began in December 2011, with the first prototype being ready on 2 November 2015 and having its maiden flight on 5 May 2017.

Aircraft production has been dogged by certification woes as tough US export rules have delayed the shipment of spare parts.

New jetliner, produced by state-owned manufacturer Commercial Aircraft Corp. of China (COMAC), took off from Shanghai International Pudong Airport at 6:52am and landed safely at 9:54am.

COMAC said the test completed the scheduled tasks and the plane, the first home-made C919 aircraft to be delivered, performed well and was in good condition, according to its official website.

New C919 aircraft is to be delivered to China Eastern Airlines.

China Eastern and COMAC signed a C919 procurement contract in Shanghai on March 1.

Currently, the preparations for the test flight and delivery of the C919 large aircraft are progressing in an orderly manner, the company said.

Wu Yongliang, vice general manager of COMAC, said earlier this year that the plane is to be delivered to the customer in 2022.

The C919, China’s first self-developed trunk jetliner, has 158-168 seats and a range of 4,075-5,555 km. The plane conducted its successful maiden flight in 2017. From 2019, six C919 aircraft projects conducted their test flights.

In December 2020, the aircraft entered the airworthiness certification process of the Civil Aviation Administration of China.

To date, COMAC has received 815 orders for the C919 from 28 customers worldwide.