COMAC’s CE-25A completes first crewed flight
COMAC’s 19-seat CE-25A electric aircraft has completed its first crewed test flight, but certification and commercial service remain ahead.
COMAC’s CE-25A electric commercial aircraft has completed its first crewed flight, marking a new test milestone for China’s effort to develop smaller battery-powered passenger aircraft. The flight took place in Binzhou, Shandong, on 14 November, according to Xinhua. 1
The aircraft carried two pilots and a flight-test engineer. Xinhua reported that the aircraft remained in normal condition during the test and that its performance indicators met expectations. A CCTV report cited by the source put the test at 57 minutes and 46 seconds, including 16 minutes and 38 seconds in the air, with 60.4 kilometres covered. 1
What the CE-25A is
COMAC describes the CE-25A as a 19-seat electric commercial aircraft intended for inter-city flights. The aircraft has a maximum take-off weight of 10 tonnes, a stated cruising speed of 300 kilometres per hour, a cruising altitude of 2,400 metres and a claimed range of 400 kilometres. 1
Its propulsion system uses distributed electric ducted fans mounted across the aircraft’s wings. The project is being developed by COMAC with CATL, Shanghai Jiao Tong University and other partners. The CE-25A designation refers to China and COMAC, electric propulsion, and the CCAR-25 transport-aircraft airworthiness rules, according to the Xinhua report. 1
A test milestone, not a launch date
The crewed flight follows 19 uncrewed autonomous verification flights, giving the programme a wider test record than this single flight alone. China’s Civil Aviation Administration has also accepted the CE-25A’s type-certificate application. 1
That application is an important regulatory step, but it does not mean the aircraft is ready to carry paying passengers. The report does not give a certification timetable or a date for commercial service, and it does not disclose the battery system’s detailed performance or operating limits. Those unanswered questions will matter as the programme moves from flight testing towards any future airline or regional transport role.
The short test distance also needs to be read in context. A first crewed flight is primarily about validating the aircraft, its systems and the interaction between the pilots and the vehicle. It is not a demonstration that the aircraft has completed its intended 400-kilometre mission profile. Further testing will need to show how the CE-25A performs with passengers, in different weather conditions and across repeated flights.
Our opinion
The CE-25A’s first crewed flight is worth watching because it turns an electric-aircraft concept into a crewed test programme, rather than because it proves that battery-powered regional travel is commercially imminent. The most meaningful next step will be evidence from the certification process and longer, repeatable flight tests. Until those arrive, the aircraft is best understood as a serious prototype at an early stage of proving what electric commercial aviation can do.