Anyone who has ever spent more than 10 hours in a plane know that it feels as though a whole world has gone by by the time you land.
Even after a full night's sleep, you still have time to watch a few movies and ponder all the life that can pass you by if, when flying economy, you don't pay extra to sign onto the airline's WiFi.
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While modern airlines can have the capacity to run flights upward of 20 hours without stopping for a refuel, the title of the longest flight in the world changes constantly depending on what is profitable to run commercially.
Historically, that title was set in 1997 with the nearly 7,400-mile trek between New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) to the O.R. Tambo International Airport (JNB) in Johannesburg taking more than 20 hours when traveling in the southeastern direction.
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A New Route Is About To Become The Longest Flight In The World
That title was overtaken by a number of other flights, including a 9,765-mile Air Tahiti Nui flight journey between Faa'a International Aiport (PPT) and Charles De Gaulle Aiport (CDG) in Paris in 2020. While airlines will periodically run flights with longer flight times, they are more often shows of "look what we can do" rather than something that's commercially viable to keep running given the high number of flights to the same destinations on partner airlines.
Airplane technology has also advanced since then and it became possible to run longer flights in shorter distances — in 2023, the longest nonstop passenger flight in the world is the Singapore Airlines (SINGF) flight between JFK and Singapore's Changi Airport taking and taking over 19 hours and spanning nearly 9,500 miles.
The longest available commercial flight since 2020, this title is about to be overtaken by a route with a slightly longer flying time. As first reported by the Points Guy travel website, Australia-based Qantas Airways (QUBSF) is preparing to launch what will be the world's longest flight between Sydney Airport (SYD) and Heathrow Airport (LHR) in London.
While numerous historical ties connect the cities, the 10,576-mile distance between them made operating direct flights difficult. Those traveling between the two cities have usually had to go through cities such as Tokyo or Perth on the west coast of Australia.
Even before the pandemic grounded much of travel, Qantas has been working to launch a direct flight between London and Sydney it dubbed "Project Sunrise." Now that demand for international travel is roaring back, the airline is ready to launch the nonstop route by 2025.
Here's What You Need To Know About 'Project Sunrise'
The airline plans to use Airbus A350-100 (EADSF) jets with capacity to carry nearly 400 passengers. The flight will take nearly 20 hours in the eastern direction. It has been undergoing a number of test runs as "Project Sunrise" gets closer to reality — the airline has been running a number of test runs and announcing its new flights to great pomp despite the fact that, for the average traveler, the convenience of a nonstop flight will still come at significant expense compared to a short stop to stretch one's legs.
"We think our A350 cabins have the most sophisticated and thoughtful design of any airline, combining cutting-edge technology with sleep research to shape the look and feel for what is effectively a new era of travel," Qantas Group CEO Alan Joyce said in a press statement announcing the new route.
