COMAC Granted Production Licence For C919

China's Comac has been granted production licence for its C919 narrowbody from the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC), paving the way for mass production of the jet.

The production certificate will allow Comac to produce the jets under an approved quality control system, and covers aspects such as raw materials control, supplier management, division and control of production links, quality control, aircraft factory testing and after-sales maintenance.

This comes just two months after it received type certification from the CAAC on 29 September. Comac applied for the production licence in April 2019, and review of its application began in July 2019.

Cirium fleets data indicates Comac has amassed orders for over 600 C919s from various Chinese airlines and lessors, and this includes the most recent order for 300 examples from seven Chinese lessors in early November. It also has options for 40 and letter of intent for more than 650.

China Eastern Airlines will be the launch customer, and is scheduled to receive the first two examples on 15 December and 15 March 2023, respectively.

Concurrently, the C919 programme has passed the T5 test and Comac was issued an aircraft evaluation report, the CAAC states. The first batch of 15 pilots, including Comac flight instructors, have obtained type rating for the C919.

The T5 test is part of a series of tests to determine aircraft type rating and pilot training and qualifications required for new, derivative or modified aircraft.

The aircraft evaluation report details aspects such as pilot qualification specifications, master minimum equipment list, planned maintenance requirements and full-aircraft emergency evacuation demonstration.

The CAAC states that the T5 test of the C919 lasted nearly two months, and involved five aviation bureau representatives, including Hong Kong's Civil Aviation Department, three China Eastern pilots and two Comac flight instructors.