China C919 makes first international commercial flight

China's C919 passenger jet completed its first international commercial flight on August 12, flying from Beijing to Mongolia's capital Ulaanbaatar on an Air China service.

The narrow-body aircraft, produced by the state-owned Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China, departed Beijing at 3:17 pm and landed in Ulaanbaatar at 4:58 pm, according to public flight data.

The C919 is made in China but uses components from countries including the United States. It has been presented as a potential competitor to Boeing's 737 and Airbus's A320, but it has not yet received approval from American or European regulators.

Xinhua news agency reported in July that the Air China route would connect Beijing and Ulaanbaatar with one round-trip flight per day.

The C919 made its first commercial flight in May 2023 between Shanghai and Beijing. It has since been used on domestic commercial routes and on routes between mainland China and Hong Kong.