China successfully lands 2 new test flights on reef

A civilian aircraft took off from the Meilan Airport of Haikou, capital of south China's Hainan Province, Jan. 6, 2016. China successfully carried out test fights of two civilian aircraft on Wednesday on a newly-built airfield in the Nansha Islands of the South China Sea. (Xinhua/Chen Yichen) ‹› China conducted more successful test flights on a newly-built airfield in the South China Sea on Wednesday, the Xinhua News Agency reported. The report said two civilian aircraft took off from Meilan airport in Haikou, capital of Hainan Province, and landed on the airfield on Yongshu Reef in the Nansha Islands at 10:21 am and 10:46 am, respectively. They flew back to Haikou Wednesday afternoon. Earlier this month, a civilian aircraft landed on the same airfield. The Chinese government used a civilian aircraft to test whether the airfield's facilities meet civil aviation standards, foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said on Saturday.