China Eastern Airlines (CEA) carried out a 100-hour verification flight for its first C919 aircraft on Monday to verify and confirm the aircraft's operation safety, paving the way for its commercial debut in spring of 2023.

Because the C919 is a new model, CEA will need to carry out an empty aircraft verification test flight on the basis of obtaining initial approval from the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC), to test and confirm the aircraft's operational safety, maintenance reliability and various operational support capabilities.

After this, the airline company will apply to the CAAC for the Operation Specifications to obtain the final approval for the commercial operation of the C919 aircraft.

CEA said it has selected 24 pilots with rich experience and superb skills as the first batch of C919 pilots.

CEA signed a contract to buy five C919 in March 2021 in the first commercial deal for the plane.

The airline officially received its first C919 jet numbered B-919A on December 9. The remaining four aircraft will be delivered in succession in the next two years based on the supplier's production and delivery plan, according to Wang Jian, the board secretary of CEA.

The C919 is China's first domestically-built large passenger aircraft developed by the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China. It was granted a certificate of airworthiness by the CAAC in late September.