The test flights of two commercial airliners were successfully carried out by China at the new airfield in the Nansha Islands on Wednesday, Jan. 8, according to a report by China Daily.
A government media release stated that the newly built airfield will provide mainland China more access by direct flights to the South China Sea.
According to anonymous insiders, these test flights were of a different nature from the test flights reported to have been done on Saturday, Jan. 2. The latter was to test communication between the airfield and the planes, while the test flights carried out on Wednesday were for actual flights.
The airfield in the Nansha Islands in the South China Sea is the most southerly airfield in China, according to Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying, who confirmed its completion.
Hua also confirmed the statement from anonymous sources, saying that the test flights carried out on Saturday were to examine whether the runway met strict civilian aviation standards.
According to a report by the Xinhua News Agency, two civilian aircraft flew from Haikou in Hainan Province on Wednesday morning and arrived on Yongshu Jiao. The journey took approximately two hours. The planes returned to Haikou later in the afternoon.
"The test flights proved that the airfield has the capacity to ensure safe operation of large civilian aircraft," Xinhua said in its official media release.
The test flights will help the delivery of manpower and other supplies such as food and healthcare on the islands, the official media release added. The airfield can also serve as an alternate runway for flights in the region.
The airfield significantly cuts travel time between the Chinese mainland and the Nansha Islands. It can also provide flight and navigational safety for ships and airplanes in the region, according to Pan Wei, chief engineer at China Rescue and Salvage under the Ministry of Transport.
The Philippines and Vietnam have protested against the completion of the airfield.