• 27.06.2026

Qantas to launch world's longest nonstop flight in 2027

Australian airline Qantas has officially announced that the first nonstop flight between Sydney and London, part of its ambitious Project Sunrise project, will launch in October 2027.

The route, covering over 16,000 kilometers, will be the longest nonstop passenger flight in the world, with a travel time of 19 to 22 hours. tmcars.info previously reported on the comfort passengers will experience on this route.

There are plans to connect Australia's east coast with other cities as well – the next confirmed destination is New York, with a launch date to be announced in 2028.

Qantas Group CEO Vanessa Hudson noted the significance of this milestone in the airline's history:

"Qantas was founded on the belief that Australia's remoteness from the rest of the world should never be a barrier." The pioneering spirit of generations of our employees has paved the way forward, and today we are taking the most significant step along this path in the company's 105-year history. Since we first flew the so-called "Kangaroo Route" in 1947, making seven stops en route to London, each new generation of aircraft has reduced the number of stops. Today, we are eliminating the last one. In 2017, we promised that Qantas would conquer the final frontier in long-haul aviation and directly connect Australia's east coast with London, something never before achieved. From October 2027, that promise will become reality."

Currently, Singapore Airlines holds the record for the longest scheduled flight (the Singapore-New York route is 15,349 km long and takes under 19 hours), but there is no economy class on this route. Qantas' current record for economy passengers is a flight between London and Perth (14,499 km, 16 to 18 hours in the air).

Airbus developed a modification of the A350-1000ULR aircraft specifically for Project Sunrise. Qantas will receive a total of 12 of these aircraft. The second aircraft in this series completed its maiden flight in early June 2026 and is currently undergoing an eight-week certification and testing program.

The aircraft is equipped with an additional 20,000-liter fuel tank, allowing for a flight time of up to 22 hours without refuelling.

Unlike the standard version of the Airbus A350-1000, which can accommodate up to 480 passengers, the Qantas variant has only 238 seats (including 140 in economy class), divided into four classes of service. This is designed to improve passenger comfort during the ultra-long-haul flight.