China's homegrown ARJ21 jetliner launches first high-plateau air route

SHANGHAI, July 2 -- China's homegrown regional jetliner, the ARJ21, launched its first high-plateau air route on Tuesday in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

The regional air route connects southern Xinjiang's Kashgar Laining International Airport with Khunjerab Airport in Taxkorgan Tajik Autonomous County, a land port on the China-Pakistan border in the Pamirs region of south Xinjiang.

A plateau airport is defined as one at an altitude exceeding 1,500 meters above sea level, while those above 2,438 meters are classified as high-plateau airports. The Khunjerab airport, located at 3,258 meters above sea level, is the first high-plateau airport in Xinjiang.

Chengdu Airlines, based in southwest China's Sichuan Province, stated that it has deployed the ARJ21 aircraft on this route due to its excellent performance.

The aircraft developer Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China, Ltd. (COMAC) said it took into consideration the air transport needs of high-altitude airports when designing and developing the ARJ21 aircraft.

The reliability of the aircraft has been verified through repeated high-altitude test flights over the years, the COMAC said.

As a pioneer of Chinese commercial airplanes, the ARJ21 was put into commercial service by Chengdu Airlines in June 2016.

Chengdu Airlines has set up three bases in Xinjiang, deploying nine ARJ21 aircraft to serve 24 local airports on more than 40 flight routes.

In June, the ARJ21 launched its first air route to Central Asia linking Kashgar Prefecture in Xinjiang with Khujand in Tajikistan.