Hong Kong International Airport welcomes Comac planes

by Payload Asia

Officiating guests included Zheng Yanxiong, the Director of the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in the HKSAR; Cui Xiaofeng, Deputy Administrator of Civil Aviation Administration of China; Wu Wei, Director of Third Bureau of Hong Kong and Macau Work Office of the CPC Central Committee; Jack So, Chairman of Airport Authority Hong Kong (AAHK); Mable Chan, Permanent Secretary for Transport and Logistics; Victor Liu, Director- General of Civil Aviation; Fred Lam, Chief Executive Officer of AAHK; and representatives from Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China, Ltd. and more.

Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) hosted a ceremony on 13 December in honour of the first arrival of the C919 and ARJ21 built by Chinese aircraft manufacturer Comac.

The two aircraft received a ceremonial water salute at Hong Kong airport upon arrival in the afternoon on 12 December and were on display at the air hub until 15 December.

Between the two aircraft, the C919, which can seat up to 168 passengers, is the most recent to be approved for commercial flights. It received the CAAC type certificate in September 2022. The first production airframe was delivered to China Eastern Airlines in December 2022 and was put into commercial passenger service in late-May 2023, Payload Asia learned.

John Lee, chief executive of Hong Kong (front left) was one of the officiating guests

The ARJ21 meanwhile is a 78–90 seat regional jet that was introduced by Chengdu Airlines in June 2016. A passenger to freighter (P2F) conversion programme for the jet was launched in May 2020 with the type certification and testing program completed in December 2022 and the type certified by the CAAC on 1 January 2023. The ARJ21P2F is designed with a maximum payload of 10,150 kilos and is compatible with PMC, PAG and AKE cargo containers.

To capture the commemorative moment of the C919 flying over the Victoria Harbour, the Hong Kong government and the airport authority have organised a photo competition open to the public entitled “C919 Aircraft Flight Demonstration in Hong Kong.” Interested individuals may submit their photographs through the AAHK online submission platform from 16 to 29 December. Visit the website for more details.