On December 18, 2025, Professor Lin Haotian, President of Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center (ZOC), Sun Yat-sen University, successfully performed the first cataract sight-restoring surgery aboard the Chinese Flying Eye Hospital. This hospital is a modified version of the domestically developed C909 aircraft, a joint project of ZOC, Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China, Ltd. (COMAC), and China Flying Dragon General Aviation Co., Ltd. Following the inaugural ocular surface surgery successfully conducted on December 10, this milestone marks the first intraocular surgery performed in the Flying Eye Hospital. It signifies that China's first fully independently developed Flying Eye Hospital with routine diagnosis and treatment capabilities has officially entered a new stage of clinical application.
Professor Lin Haotian performing cataract surgery in the aircraft's operating cabin
Professor Lin Haotian stated that the growing demand for eye health services calls for high-quality mobile medical resources. The successful cataract surgery performed today aboard the domestically developed C909 medical aircraft, the "Chinese Flying Eye Hospital", represents a landmark achievement in the deep integration of aviation manufacturing, 5G communication, artificial intelligence, and clinical medicine. "In the future, we will work with alliance partners and social forces to pool our efforts, solidly advance the construction of an integrated 'Air-Space-Ground-Sea' eye health service system. We aim to promote the shift in ophthalmic medical service models from 'disease-centered' to 'people's health-centered,' strive to provide the public with comprehensive, full-cycle eye health services, and contribute ZOC's strength to building a global community of health for all," he said.
The postoperative patient posing for a group photo with the medical team
The interior of the Flying Eye Hospital is designed in compliance with aviation system standards for ophthalmic operating rooms. It is equipped with advanced facilities such as a surgical microscope, sterile operating tables, patient monitors, and a remote consultation terminal, enabling the delivery of routine ophthalmic surgeries.
The Flying Eye Hospital linking up with a 5G intelligent ophthalmic mobile clinic
During the event, ZOC also provided on-ground eye health screenings and public welfare eye clinics for local residents and aviation service personnel using a 5G intelligent ophthalmic mobile clinic. This realized the first linkage between aerial and ground-based medical resources, marking a solid step forward for ZOC's integrated "Air-Space-Ground-Sea" eye health service system.
Self-Reliance in Science and Technology, Serving Healthy China Initiative
After the surgery, co-building partners of the Chinese Flying Eye Hospital held a symposium on its future development. Representatives from Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center, COMAC, China Flying Dragon General Aviation Co., Ltd., the Henan Alumni Association of Sun Yat-sen University, and the Volunteer Hospital Alliance of the Flying Eye Hospital attended the meeting. Participants engaged in in-depth discussions on topics including the routine operation mechanisms of the Chinese Flying Eye Hospital, cross-regional mobile clinic route planning, emergency medical response capabilities, pathways for international cooperation, and national foreign medical aid.
Exterior view of the aircraft
Zhang Haifeng, Deputy General Manager of China Flying Dragon General Aviation Co., Ltd., stated: "As the aircraft operator, we have assembled a full professional operations team to ensure the smooth execution of missions. Following the completion of ocular surface surgeries, the successful performance of intraocular surgery aboard the Flying Eye Hospital marks a substantive leap from '0 to 1' in the 'low-altitude aviation + healthcare' sector. In the future, we will collaborate with the C9 Alliance and establish extensive connections with medical institutions, enabling the Flying Eye Hospital to serve as an aerial bridge for advancing the national cause of equitable medical access."
Representatives from member institutions of the Volunteer Hospital Alliance of the Flying Eye Hospital, including Professor Du Liping from The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Professor Li Jianqiao from Qilu Hospital of Shandong University, and Shang Weihua, President of the Henan Alumni Association of Sun Yat-sen University, expressed at the meeting their commitment to collaborating with alliance members and leveraging alumni strength to jointly promote the standardized development of the Flying Eye Hospital.
A Four-Decade Dream Realized, Writing a New Chapter in Mobile Healthcare
"Chinese people must have our own Flying Eye Hospital!" As early as 1982, the world's first flying eye hospital, operated by Orbis International, made its maiden visit to China at the invitation of Professors Chen Yaozhen and Mao Wenshu from the Affiliated Eye Hospital of Sun Yat-sen Medical College. It conducted an 18-day program of eye disease diagnosis, treatment, and blindness prevention training in Guangzhou. Back then, its advanced equipment and concepts revolutionized China’s ophthalmology community, quietly planting the seed of building a homegrown flying eye hospital in the hearts of generations of ophthalmologists. This aspiration spanning over forty years has finally become a reality soaring in the blue sky today.
Group photo (1982) of experts from the ORBIS Flying Eye Hospital and Chinese ophthalmologists participating in the training program
Group photo(2025) of the medical team of the Chinese Flying Eye Hospital
Li Qiang, Chair of the ZOC Council, stated that building China's own flying eye hospital is not only an embodiment of self-reliance in science and technology but also a concrete action by public hospitals to uphold the principle of putting people and lives first. As a key force in the national eye disease prevention and treatment system and a pioneer in China's mobile healthcare, ZOC will continue to advance the integrated "Air-Space-Ground-Sea" eye health service system, contributing ophthalmic strength to the development of the Healthy China Initiative.
In the future, Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center will continue to propel the Chinese Flying Eye Hospital project, exploring more application scenarios for "aviation + healthcare" and "mobility + healthcare," contributing Chinese wisdom and solutions to global eye health.
