One of the pairs of China's first domestically produced regional jets, the 90-seat ARJ21-700, is pictured in front of a hangar of the Commercial Aircraft Corp of China (COMAC) on Dec 30, 2013 in Baoshan District, Shanghai. [Photo/Xinhua]

It is the first time the CAAC has given the CCAR-25 certification to a domestic aircraft.

The process for the ARJ 21's airworthiness certification started in 2003, because neither the Chinese authorities nor the manufacturer had experienced the process before. The two sides have now gained experience on airworthiness certification, including technology and human resources, and based on that experience, the airworthiness certification for the C919, the homemade large passenger aircraft, will take less time.

Before producing the aircraft on a large scale, the manufacturer still needs to get production certification and airworthiness certification for every single aircraft.