A new international air route connecting south China's Shenzhen with Manado in Indonesia was launched on Friday, marking the first deployment of a Chinese-developed passenger aircraft on an international route from Shenzhen.

Operated by Indonesian airline TransNusa and using a C909 aircraft, the service will run three times each week. Flights depart from Manado at 9:10 p.m. local time on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, arriving in Shenzhen at 1 a.m. the following day.

Flights taking off from Shenzhen at 2 a.m. on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays, land in Manado at 5:40 a.m. local time.

The launch of the route expands Shenzhen's air links with Southeast Asia, bringing the city's total number of direct air passenger destinations in the region to 22.

Since it entered into commercial service in 2016, more than 160 C909 aircraft have been delivered, serving over 10 airlines around the world. The model has safely operated more than 700 routes and carried over 24 million passengers to date.