The Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China, Ltd. (COMAC) is going to deliver a batch of ARJ21 jet airplanes to Inner Mongolia-based company Genghis Khan Airlines, according to the agreement signed Monday in Beijing, thus making the airline China’s first airline to operate with all domestically-produced airplanes.

File photo: COMAC

It also marks China’s commercial jet airplane’s  further step into marketization and industrialization.

Based at the Hohhot Baita International Airport, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Genghis Khan Airlines was established in March 2018. It plans to offer commercial flights in early 2019. The airline said it hopes to expand its fleet to 25 jets within five years.

This photo released in April shows an ARJ21 plane taking off under a strong crosswind of 54 kilometers per hour at Keflavik International Airport in Iceland during one of the jet’s test flights in March. (Photo: Xinhua)

The climate and high altitude resistance of  the ARJ21 will handle tough takeoff and landing conditions and complicated mountainous flight routes in midwestern China, the airline said.

Inner Mongolia interconnects eight Chinese provinces as well as Russia and Mongolia. The special geographic location has boosted its total passenger throughput to 17.14 million in the first three quarters of 2018. Inner Mongolia has constructed 28 civil airports in recent years.

File photo: VCG

The first ARJ21 was delivered to Chengdu Airlines in November 2015, which is also the first jet passenger airplane produced by China. Eight ARJ21 have been in service, carrying more than 160,000 passengers.