The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has confirmed that test flights have been conducted as part of the certification process for the C919 narrow-body passenger aircraft developed by Chinese manufacturer COMAC. In a statement released on Thursday, EASA said the flights were carried out within the scope of “validation activities”.
According to a report by the South China Morning Post, EASA conducted test flights with the C919 in Shanghai in order to assess the safety of COMAC’s aircraft. This step is regarded as a critical milestone in the C919’s process of entering the European market.
If EASA safety certification is granted, China’s state-backed aircraft manufacturer COMAC will gain the opportunity to expand its presence in the global market towards European and other Western airlines. At present, airlines in Europe are unable to add COMAC-manufactured aircraft to their fleets due to the absence of EASA certification.
According to experts, the testing and validation process carried out by EASA is of strategic importance for the C919 programme, which aims to provide an alternative to Airbus and Boeing. Completion of the certification could pave the way for China to take part more strongly in global competition in civil aviation.
