China celebrates maiden international flight of home-grown ARJ21 jetliner

An ARJ21 (Advanced Regional Jet for 21st Century) plane that took off from Indonesia landed at Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport in the Guangdong provincial capital at about 9 am on Tuesday, completing the maiden flight of the Manado-Guangzhou route of Indonesia's TransNusa Airlines and the longest commercial route for China's first home-grown regional jetliner that meets international standards.

The Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport welcomed the plane, dubbed "Ah Jiao", home with a water arch, the highest etiquette in the civil aviation industry, according to a press release from the airport.

Wu Guofang, captain of the flight and captain instructor for TransNusa Airlines, said the aircraft's performance is excellent, marking a solid step forward in the international development of domestic commercial aircraft.

TransNusa Airlines is the first overseas customer of the ARJ21.

The new round-trip flight between Manado and Guangzhou will initially operate three times a week.