Qantas achieved what is believed to be the longest commercial flight on record when one of its specially adapted Airbus A350-1000ULR jets completed a 24-hour and 24-minute journey from Melbourne to Toulouse on Tuesday. The aircraft covered 23,075 kilometers without stopping, surpassing the previous record of 22 hours and 42 minutes established by a Boeing 777–200LR in 2005.
The flight is part of Project Sunrise, Qantas’s initiative to operate nonstop service between Australia and London using the modified A350 aircraft. Airbus has been conducting a two-month testing campaign on the plane since June, which also included a separate flight from Toulouse to Melbourne covering just over 19 hours. The aircraft features an extra fuel tank and additional capacity designed specifically to support these ultra-long-range routes.
The achievement generated significant public interest, with flight-tracking service Flightradar24 reporting that more than 3.6 million people followed the flight’s progress online, making it the second-most-tracked flight in the provider’s history. The upcoming commercial service is expected to transform travel between Australia’s east coast and London, reducing what was historically a five-day journey on the “Kangaroo Route” to a single flight lasting 19 to 21 hours depending on routing and weather conditions.
Qantas has ordered 12 of the modified aircraft and expects to commence regular nonstop Sydney-London service from October 2027. The first aircraft, scheduled for delivery in April 2027, will carry 20,000 additional liters of fuel and accommodate 238 passengers. The airline also plans to use the jets for routes connecting Australia to New York.
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