Chengdu Airlines’ ARJ21s Return To China’s Northernmost Airport Where It’s -50°C

The China-made ARJ21 is back at China’s northernmost airport after 22 months.

Chengdu Airlines flight EU1895 landed at China’s northernmost airport, Mohe Gulian Airport (OHE), at 12:13 AM on January 27th. It was also the first commercial flight after 22 months of expansion and renovation of the airport.

Chengdu Airlines conducted the operation with its ARJ21 (B-652F). As Mohe airport is back into commercial operation, Chengdu Airlines plans to operate two scheduled flights, one transit route from the capital of the Heilongjiang Province, Harbin, via Gagdach to Mohe, and one direct route from Harbin to Mohe.

As the northernmost city in China, Mohe is experiencing its coldest days in history. At 7:00 AM on January 22nd, the lowest temperature in Mohe dropped to -53 °C, breaking the historical minimum temperature of -52.3 °C.

China’s northernmost city and airport

Mohe Gulian Airport was put into commercial operation in June 2018. The first commercial flight route was operated by China Southern Airlines, connecting this northernmost city with the country’s capital Beijing via the Provincial capital Harbin.

Chengdu Airlines started its regional operations in Heilongjiang Province, China’s border province next to Russia and North Korea, in 2018. Last year, Chengdu Airlines officially made Harbin its operation center in Northeastern China.

After the renovation of Mohe Airport, Chengdu Airlines resumed its operation in this northernmost airport with two scheduled flights as below:

The expansion and renovation of Mohe Airport started in March 2021, and took 22 months to finish. Luckily, almost all the construction work was done during the pandemic, and the resumption of commercial operation comes at a point in the industry’s post-pandemic recovery.

It is reported that the total investment of the Mohe Gulian Airport expansion and renovation project is 805 million Yuan ($120 million). After the expansion and renovation, the runway will be extended to 2,800 meters, and a new terminal, air traffic control building, and two boarding bridges were newly built. The airport is capable of handling Airbus A321 and Boeing B737-800 or other similar aircraft types.

The local government said the resumption of Mohe Airport would further improve the accessibility and convenience of Mohe’s foreign exchanges, and bring new opportunities for Mohe’s tourism economy and open to the outside world.

After the resumption of commercial operation, the airport will be further improved to meet the annual passenger traffic of 470,000, cargo traffic of 731 tons, and aircraft takeoff and landing capacity of 5,596. It will effectively improve and enhance the transportation capacity of Mohe during the peak tourist season and promote the economic and social development of the Greater Khingan Mountains forest area.

This year, Mohe Airport will strive to open Mohe to Beijing, the Yangtze River Delta, and the Pearl River Delta air routes.