Europe’s aviation safety regulator will take as long as it needs to approve China’s C919 passenger jet, a top official told Reuters, dashing Beijing’s hopes of a quick entry into a market marked by a shortage of planes and a safety crisis at Boeing.

China is increasing pressure on other countries to approve its new aircraft, but industry sources warn that approval from Western regulators could take years.

The COMAC C919 narrow-body aircraft, designed to compete with the best-selling models of market-dominant aircraft manufacturers Airbus and Boeing, entered service in China last May after receiving domestic safety certification in 2022.

“It’s too new for us”

Luc Tietgat, acting executive director of the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), said the Chinese manufacturer had originally applied for European approval in 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic halted work.

He returned in November, demanding that the review be completed by 2026.

“To be honest, I don’t know if we can do it yet: the plane is too new for us to know how easy or difficult it will be,” he said in an interview at EASA’s headquarters in Cologne. “Since 2019, work (on the plane) has continued in China, so now we need to report the changes,” he added.

The claims came weeks after China’s state-owned planemaker unveiled the C919 jet with a demonstration flight at the Singapore Air Show.

China presents it as an alternative to Airbus and Boeing

China is promoting it as a new alternative at a time when Airbus’ order books are full and Boeing is facing production quality problems for its 737 MAX model.

To win significant export contracts, the C919 must gain widespread acceptance from foreign regulators, especially EASA and the US Federal Aviation Administration.

Under an agreement between the EU and China signed in 2019, European regulators must decide whether to provide their own “audit” of China’s aircraft certification to ensure that any imports meet its own safety standards.

Without this inspection, the C919 will not be able to fly in Europe.

No European airline is in a rush to order the C919

Tietgat’s statements hinted that EASA is in the “technical familiarization” stage, which experts say is the first part of a certification process that could take five years or more.

Western regulators have tightened certification requirements for the planes following the fatal Boeing 737 MAX crashes in 2018 and 2019, which revealed flaws in design and oversight.

The review is also expected to be particularly thorough for the first aircraft from a new manufacturer.

Earlier, the Irish budget airline Ryanair said that it would consider the possibility of purchasing a Chinese aircraft.

So far, however, no European airline has asked EASA to expedite certification work to place an order, Titgat said.