Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China, Ltd. (COMAC) conducted flight displays of its ARJ21 and C919 commercial aircraft in Cambodia yesterday.
Showcasing of the two jetliners in Cambodia was part of the COMAC’s demonstration of flights in Southeast Asian countries such as Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Malaysia and Indonesia.
The flight demo took place at the Phnom Penh International Airport.
Under-secretary of State Secretariat of Civil Aviation and spokesman Sin Chanseryvutha said that the COMAC has launched a two-week test flight and demonstration in the region of Southeast Asia before reaching the launch of overseas markets in the near future.
“The two planes, C919 and ARJ21, landed safely at Phnom Penh International Airport. The ARJ21 made a demonstration flight, carrying representatives of some airlines and some guests to Siem Reap Angkor International Airport to showcase the flight of the aircraft,” he said.
The two jetliners will depart from Cambodia on March 7 for other ASEAN member countries, he said.
“Phnom Penh International Airport was happy to receive the first-ever Chinese-made COMAC C919 aircraft for a demo,” Cambodia Airports which manages Phnom Penh International Airport and Sihanoukville International Airport wrote on its official Facebook yesterday.
C919 aircraft is the first jet-type trunk liner independently developed by China in accordance with international airworthiness standards. It has a layout of 158 to 192 seats and a range of 4,075 to 5,555 kilometres.
ARJ21 aircraft is the first short-medium range turbofan regional aircraft having a layout of 78 to 97 seats and a range of 2,225 to 3,700 kilometres.
COMAC said the demonstration flights helped to verify the adaptability of China-made commercial aircraft to airports and routes in Southeast Asia and laid the foundation for the company’s future exploration of the Southeast Asian market, China’s state-run news agency Xinhua reported on February 28.
Since the C919 aircraft made its first commercial debut on May 28, 2023, COMAC has delivered four jets to the airline company China Eastern, operating round-trip flights from Shanghai to Beijing and from Shanghai to Chengdu, carrying more than 130,000 passengers.
The two aircraft were also showcased at the Singapore Airshow in late February.
With three international airports, Cambodia has a number of airlines including national carriers, budget airlines and regional airlines operating in and out of the country that has opened its airspace to several airlines and routes over the past
Cambodia attracted 5.43 million international tourists in 2023, a sharp increase of 139 percent from 2.27 million in 2022, according to a Ministry of Tourism report earlier. khmertimekh
