Embraer performed a demonstration flight with an E190-E2 from Seoul to Pohang Airport, in South Korea. The aircraft took off with 80 passengers and performed a simulated landing at a distance of just 1,066 meters of runway, thus proving its capability to operate in restricted airports.
Embraer’s demonstration flight was to prove its capacity to operate at the future airport on the island of Ulleungdo, 120 km from the South Korean coast. The Ulleungdo island is just 73 km and does not have an airport.
The government has started construction on the Ulleungdo Airport, which is expected to be completed by 2025. The airport runway will be just 1200 meters, way smaller than the normal air strip. The demonstration flight was conducted to prove that E190-E2 can take-off and land on this runway.
The E190-E2 flew over the island before landing in Pohang, demonstrating its range, with fuel until the return to Seoul.
At first, the plan is that only turboprop aircraft with capacity for up to 50 passengers operate at the airport, but there are studies to expand this limit to 80 seats with Embraer demonstrating the E190-E2 with a similar capacity.