The new Russian passenger plane MS-21 for the first time performed taxiing at the airfield of the Irkutsk Aircraft Plant. The liner is prepared for flight testing, but their dates are not reported.

"As part of the preparations for the first flight, the aircraft systems are being inspected, ground-launched launches of the march and auxiliary power plant are being completed, taxiing and running at the airport of the plant are being carried out," reads an information message on the website of the United Aircraft Corporation.

On May 15, Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in Irkutsk, but whether he was present at the trial run was not informed.

The MS-21 is the second passenger aircraft in the history of the Russian aircraft industry, completely designed and built in the post-Soviet period. The first was the Sukhoi SuperJet 100.

The main enterprise of the MS-21 project is the Irkut Corporation, which developed it jointly with Yakovlev Design Bureau.

The first flight of the liner was originally scheduled for December 2016, but then it was postponed and it should pass at the end of May this year. Manufacturer МС-21 corporation "Irkut" says that the portfolio of orders is 285 aircraft, but the solid ones are only 175.

MS-21 belongs to the family of near-medium-haul airliners; in terms of its technical characteristics, it is close to the modifications of the Boeing 737 and Airbus A320 that dominate the world air transportation market.