The Flight Inspection Center of CAAC (CFIC) has signed an agreement for eight Citation XLS+ business jets with Cessna-AVIC Aircraft (Zhuhai), a Textron Aviation joint venture in China. Deliveries of the aircraft are expected to take place from 2019 to 2021. The two companies held a signing ceremony during ABACE at Shanghai Hongqiao airport.

“The successful purchase of these aircraft is only possible with the great support for flight inspection operations from the Party Group of Civil Aviation Administration of China, which is significant to the fleet construction of CFIC and ensuring civil aviation transportation safety,” states CFIC director Xiong Jie.

“This recent order by the CFIC demonstrates the Center's continued confidence in the products and services provided by Textron Aviation,” adds Kevin Wu, Textron international VP of sales for greater China and Mongolia. “We continue to fully support the operations of the CFIC and its mission to propel the development of the civil aviation safety system in China.”

The eight XLS+ aircraft, which will be outfitted with special flight inspection equipment, will facilitate the expansion of the CFIC fleet and its ability to respond to challenging missions throughout the region, such as fulfilling inspection and certification missions for the communication, navigation, radar and flight programmes of newly-built airports, as well as to perform regular flight inspection missions for airports already in operation. This will help ensure a smooth implementation of airport construction plans and safe operation of corresponding air routes during China's Thirteenth Five-Year Plan period.

According to the Thirteenth Five-Year Plan for the Development of China Civil Aviation, jointly issued by CAAC, National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Transport, China will complete work on 30 airports, commence work on 44 new airports, reconstruct and expand 139 airports, relocate 19 airports and conduct 51 additional projects to accelerate the construction of airports and lay the foundation for sustainable development of civil aviation. The plan promotes the construction of more than 200 general aviation airports and encourages qualified civilian airports to concurrently provide general aviation services.

CIFC's existing fleet of eight 560 XLS/XLS+ jets continue to perform inspection missions at many high-elevation airports throughout the region. The XLS+ is ideally suited for this mission due to its excellent high-elevation performance, ability to operate in severe weather and harsh environments and economical operating costs.