A C919 jetliner is pictured after landing at Harbin Taiping International Airport in Harbin, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, April 15, 2026. (Xinhua/Zhang Tao)

China's self-developed large passenger aircraft the C919 has safely transported more than 5 million passenger trips since entering commercial service three years ago, and has reached 23 cities in its flight network, its producer, the Commercial Aircraft Corp of China (COMAC), said on its official WeChat account on Thursday.

The C919 completed its first commercial flight from Shanghai to Beijing on May 28, 2023, marking its official entry into the civil aviation market. 

Operated by China Eastern Airlines, the first flight took off from Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport at 10:32 am, with 128 passengers on board. The plane was greeted with a water salute after touching down at Beijing Capital International Airport at 12:31 pm, Xinhua reported at the time. 

Since the first flight, the C919 has seen many milestones over the past three years. On February 17, 2024, a China Eastern Airlines C919 aircraft made its first flight outside the Chinese mainland, arriving at Singapore's Changi International Airport to participate in the Singapore Airshow 2024.

On September 10, 2024, the first C919 aircraft of Air China completed its inaugural commercial operation. On September 19, 2024, a C919 aircraft of China Southern Airlines completed its inaugural commercial operation. With these developments, the C919 aircraft has commenced operations with all three major Chinese airlines.

On December 19, 2024, China Eastern Airlines welcomed the 1 millionth passenger on the C919 aircraft. On January 14, 2025, the first day of the Spring Festival travel rush, the C919 planes of Air China, China Eastern Airlines, and China Southern Airlines appeared together at Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport for the first time.

From July 1 to August 31, 2025, the C919 aircraft of China's three major airlines were fully deployed for the summer travel season. Among them, all 11 C919 aircraft operated by China Eastern Airlines were put into service to support summer travel operations.

During the period from February 2 to March 13, 2026, a total of 33 C919 aircraft from Air China, China Eastern Airlines, and China Southern Airlines were deployed for Spring Festival travel route operations, the highest number ever recorded.

Global Times