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China’s home-grown C919 reaches new heights with flight to ‘roof of the world’
C919 ‘smoothly landed’ at one of the highest airports in the world in western China on Thursday ahead of a series of ‘research and development test flights’
Ralph Jennings
Published: 6:30pm, 19 Sep 2024
China’s first home-grown narrowbody civilian aircraft flew to the capital of the Tibet autonomous region for the first time on Thursday, reaching one of the highest airports in the world known for its challenging weather patterns.
A C919 “smoothly landed” at Lhasa Gonggar Airport in far western China after travelling for about two hours from Chengdu in the southwestern Sichuan province, according to the official Xinhua News Agency.
The airport serving the Tibetan capital of Lhasa sits at around 3,650 metres (11,979 feet) above sea level in the Himalayan mountain region, giving it the moniker of the “roof of the world”.
Low air pressure means planes should be in top shape, Guangzhou-based aviation analyst Li Hanming said.
“The change of air pressure due to elevation requires extra performance to take-off and land safely,” Li said.
