More than 24 hours in the air: Airbus breaks the record for the longest flight in history for an airliner

Three continents, two oceans and more than a day in the air, without the slightest stopover. The performance is enough to make even those accustomed to long-haul flights dizzy. In a press release published on November 9, Airbus announced that its A350-1000ULR (for Ultra Long Range) has entered the Guinness World Records.

The aircraft now holds the record for the longest distance flight carried out by a commercial airliner, after connecting Australia to France in 24 hours and 24 minutes, as part of a test campaign.

More than 23,000 kilometers traveled non-stop

To understand this feat, we have to go back to July 27. At 5:27 p.m. local time, the plane takes off from Melbourne with the destination Toulouse, where the European manufacturer's headquarters is located. He landed there the next day, at 9:51 a.m., after having covered 12,503 nautical miles, or 23,155 kilometers.

Far from following the shortest route, the A350 first flies over Sydney, then heads northeast to cross the Pacific. After crossing the international date line, it passes over North America, then the Atlantic, before reaching Europe, notably via London.

During this journey, the thirteen people on board were able to observe two sunrises and two sunsets, reports Airbus. However, no commercial passengers were taking part in the trip: the crew included three test pilots from the manufacturer, two pilots from Qantas, five engineers specializing in flight tests, two design engineers and a representative from the Fédération aéronautique Internationale (FAI).

A previous record held by Boeing

Carried out at the end of July, the performance has just been officially recognized by Guinness World Records. According to Airbus, the flight data was independently validated by the FAI and by Flightradar24, a platform specializing in air traffic monitoring.

The European manufacturer thus dethrones a Boeing 777-200LR which linked Hong Kong to London in November 2005. The American aircraft then traveled 21,601 kilometers in 22 hours and 42 minutes. The A350-1000ULR improves this mark by more than 1,500 kilometers.

Beyond the record, this flight was mainly intended to allow Airbus to demonstrate what its new aircraft was capable of. “By traveling 12,503 nautical miles non-stop, we have fully demonstrated the ability of the aircraft to fulfill its mission. And the world record was the icing on the cake!” says Lars Wagner, general manager of the commercial aviation branch of Airbus, quoted in the press release.

Sydney-London and Sydney-New York soon non-stop

This test campaign is part of Qantas’ “Project Sunrise” program, for which the A350 was specially developed. The Australian company intends to offer one-stop connections between Sydney and major cities such as London and New York.

To make these journeys possible, Airbus has notably installed an additional tank at the rear of the plane, called Rear Center Tank. According to the manufacturer, this equipment increases its autonomy by approximately 1000 nautical miles. It should thus make it possible to ensure connections approaching 10,000 nautical miles, or nearly 18,500 kilometers, for flight times of up to 22 hours.

Qantas has ordered twelve examples of this version of the A350. Airbus plans to deliver the first in April 2027, before entering service on the Sydney-London route later in the year. If the Melbourne-Toulouse journey remains a test performance, it therefore foreshadows the very long non-stop journeys that the company intends to offer its passengers.