In remarks published by French magazine L’Usine Nouvelle on Monday, Florian Guillermet, executive director of the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), said certification for the narrowbody C919 – essential for the sale of any aircraft to European carriers – will not be granted this year.
“As we informed them officially, the C919 cannot be certified in 2025 … We should be certifying the C919 within three to six years,” Guillermet said.
Analysts did not expect the news to deter the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (Comac), the jet’s manufacturer, in its attempts to enter a major overseas market, as the company still has cards left to play.
“C919’s reliability and safety have to be proven by more flights, and it is definitely normal for [the regulator] to have a sceptical and scrutinising attitude,” aviation analyst Li Hanming said.
Following its first commercial flight in May 2023, Comac’s plane has been in regular use on several domestic flight paths, transporting over 1 million passengers as of January 2025.
