Pilot Bertrand Piccard wave from Solar Impulse 2, the world's only solar powered aircraft, before taking off at the Mandalay International Airport in Myanmar on March 30, 2015. - AFP
The team behind Solar Impulse 2, which has more than 17,000 solar cells built into its wings, hopes to promote green energy with its circumnavigation attempt.
Ridiculed by the aviation industry when it was first unveiled, the venture has since been hailed around the world, including by UN chief Ban Ki-moon.
Muscat was the first of the 12 planned stops on the plane’s maiden journey around the world from Abu Dhabi, with a total flight time of around 25 days spread over five months.
From Oman the plane flew to the Indian city of Ahmedabad before heading to Varanasi and then Mandalay.
From Chongqing it will depart for the eastern coastal city of Nanjing before embarking on the most arduous leg of its journey, an 8,172-kilometre, 120-hour odyssey across the Pacific to Hawaii.
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