China's ARJ21-700 Freighter Makes Its First International Flight

TapTechNews June 7th, according to CCTV News' report today, an ARJ21-700 domestic aircraft fully loaded with electronic products flew from Yining, Xinjiang to Tashkent, Uzbekistan on June 6. This is the first time a domestic freighter of our country has flown out of the country, and it is also the first international cargo airline opened by a domestic freighter.

The ARJ21-700 aircraft is China's first regional aircraft developed in accordance with international airworthiness standards and with independent intellectual property rights. According to Zhu Hongwu, the on-site representative of Hangzhou YTO Cargo Airlines Co., Ltd. in Yining Station, in the initial stage of the opening of the international cargo airline from Yining, Xinjiang to Tashkent, it is planned to operate three flights per week.

According to the previous report of TapTechNews, on October 30 last year, Hangzhou YTO Cargo Airlines Co., Ltd. and Zhongyuan Longhao Airlines Co., Ltd. each received an ARJ21 passenger-to-freighter aircraft in Guangzhou.

The maximum designed payload of the ARJ21 passenger-to-freighter aircraft is 10 tons, and the designed range is 1700 miles (about 2778 kilometers). It is mainly used for the transportation of goods, mails and couriers on domestic airlines and short-range international airlines. The ARJ21 passenger-to-freighter project was officially established in May 2020 and obtained the airworthiness approval of the Civil Aviation Administration of China in January 2023, becoming the first successful practice of passenger-to-freighter conversion of commercial aircraft in China.

The ARJ21 passenger-to-freighter is another important derivative model launched by the ARJ21 project after the business jet. It is equipped with a fully electric actuation system for the main cargo door, an advanced warning system, and a highly reliable cargo system, and has the functions of pressure relief, fire suppression, independent control of the air conditioning package, and good drainage.

At the same time, it has the advantages of being safe and reliable, flexible and convenient, high volume utilization rate, and good compatibility of containers, and can meet the loading of different standard-sized containers such as PMC, PAG, and AKE.