Airbus confirms new record for longest commercial airliner flight with Qantas A350
Airbus announced (09-Nov-2026) its A350-1000ULR officially broke the Guinness World Record for the longest flight by distance by a commercial airliner. The record was based on data independently validated by the International Aeronautical Federation and flightradar24. The Airbus-operated flight departed Melbourne on 27-Jul-2026 and landed in Toulouse on 28-Jul-2026, covering a distance of 12,503 nautical miles with a flight time of 24 hours and 24 minutes. It was undertaken as part of the flight test campaign for the aircraft type, which is being developed as part of Qantas Airways' Project Sunrise initiative. This included a requirement for Airbus to operate one sector with a block time of 23 hours to simulate the commercial operations that will be possible with the aircraft. [more - original PR]
Background ✨
Qantas' first Project Sunrise A350-1000ULR, 'Vega', completed its maiden test flight from Toulouse, focusing on primary systems including the specialised fuel system with an additional 20,000L rear centre tank, ahead of a two month campaign covering around 80 flight hours.1 The aircraft later flew Toulouse-Melbourne on 24-Jul-2026, with two Qantas pilots joining Airbus' crew for the 24 hour return flight to Toulouse.2 3 Qantas plans to launch daily nonstop Sydney-London service from Oct-2027 using 238 seat A350-1000ULRs, with the first delivery expected in Apr-2027 following supply chain delays.4 5 6