Air Travel Revolution: Airbus Flies Plane Over 24 Hours in Moves Toward Nonstop Flights from Europe to Australia
Airbus recently completed a test flight from Australia to France, a key step on the way toward enabling nonstop flights between Europe and Down Under.
The aircraft was a specially adapted A350-1000ULR and flew for 24 hours and 24 minutes, Fox Business reported on July 29.
The flight started in Melbourne, Australia, and ended in Toulouse, France, traveling 14,338 miles without stopping.
Fox Business reported that the flight was part of Australian airline Qantas’ effort Project Sunrise.
“The A350 will operate more direct routes to Australia, with a significantly shorter point-to-point travel time — reducing flight time up to four hours compared to the flight time of one-stop flights,” Qantas said on its website.
The #A350-1000ULR is just back from its longest flight ever from Melbourne 🇦🇺 to Toulouse 🇫🇷! That’s a 12,460NM (23,075.92 km) hop 🦘 in 24 hours 24 minutes!
— Airbus (@Airbus) July 28, 2026
And for the crew, that meant flying from winter to summer, crossing 2 oceans, 3 continents, and seeing 2 sunrises + 2… pic.twitter.com/Xk3Gbfq3HL
The effort was launched in 2017 to create the longest nonstop commercial routes in the world.
The flight surpassed a 2005 journey in which a Boeing 777-200LR Worldliner traveled 13,422 miles from Hong Kong to London in 22 hours and 42 minutes, per Fox Business.
The modified Airbus plane can seat 238 passengers and has a fuel tank capable of carrying an added 20,000 liters.
Qantas ordered 12 of the jets from Airbus.
The first plane is expected to arrive in April 2027, and nonstop flights between Sydney and London are expected to start in October 2027.
The Guardian reported that the Sydney to London route is expected to last between 19 and 21 hours.
As of the summer of 2026, the longest regular commercial flight in the world is between New York City and Singapore, per OAG.
That flight, run by Singapore Airlines, is approximately 9,526 miles.
It takes an average of 18 hours and 40 minutes to complete.
The second longest flight is from nearby Newark, New Jersey, to Singapore.
Several of the longest commercial routes are between Australia and New Zealand and various cities in Europe and the United States.
Passengers can fly directly from cities such as Perth, Melbourne, and Auckland, New Zealand, to London, Dallas, and Paris.
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