China has successfully flown a 19-seat electric passenger aircraft for the first time, marking a major step towards bringing battery-powered planes into commercial aviation.
The 10-tonne CE-25A, capable of cruising at 300 kmph, completed its maiden piloted flight on November 14 in Shandong province, with three crew members onboard.
Developed by the state-owned Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC), the aircraft is designed to carry passengers over distances of up to 400 km. According to Xinhua News Agency, citing COMAC, the aircraft operated normally during the test, with all performance indicators meeting expectations.
The flight test lasted 57 minutes and 46 seconds, although the aircraft spent 16 minutes and 38 seconds airborne, covering a distance of 60.4 km, according to China's state broadcaster CCTV.
The aircraft carried two pilots and a flight-test engineer. The test followed its first unmanned autonomous flight on February 2, 2026, and 19 unmanned flight-validation exercises conducted as part of the development programme.
Unlike conventional passenger aircraft that rely on fuel-powered jet engines or turboprop engines, the CE-25A uses a distributed electric ducted-fan propulsion system.
Multiple…