World's longest commercial flight to launch next year - 22-hour journey across 10k miles

Direct commercial flights between London and Sydney are set to fly for the first time from October 2027, Australian airline Qantas has announced. Estimated to take up to 22 hours, the “game-changing new route” will be the longest commercial flight in the world and tickets are expected to go on sale from February next year.

The current longest commercial flight, according to FlightRadar24, is Singapore Airlines’ 15,349km trip between New York and Singapore, but Qantas’s Project Sunrise flight will bridge the 16,995km distance between London and Sydney in one stop. UK tourism minister Stephanie Peacock said: “Qantas’s decision to make London the first destination for Project Sunrise is a powerful vote of confidence in the UK as a hub for global tourism, and a reflection of the deep ties between our two countries. This is a historic moment, not just for British aviation and tourism, but for the millions of passengers who will experience flying from Sydney to London non-stop for the first time.”

To achieve the feat, Qantas has ordered 12 A350-1000ULR aircraft, manufactured by Airbus in Toulouse.

Each aircraft will be configured with 238 seats across four cabins – First Class, Business, Premium Economy and Economy – and will be fitted with an additional 20,000-litre fuel tank to the A350 that will enable it to fly over 16,000km for up to 22 hours non-stop.

Qantas has said it will cut up to four hours off the current one-stop services, and plans for the second Project Sunrise route to connect Australia and New York directly. It will fly in conjunction with Qantas’s existing Perth-London and Sydney-Singapore-London services.

Qantas’s Perth to London Heathrow flight is currently the world’s fourth-longest flight, according to FlightRadar24, and is the longest flight operating out of both Britain and Australia.

Qantas Group chief executive Vanessa Hudson said: “Qantas was built on the belief that Australia’s distance from the rest of the world should never stand in the way.

“Since we first flew the Kangaroo Route in 1947, where we stopped seven times on the way to London, every generation of aircraft has taken a stop out of the journey. Today, we’re taking out the last one.

“We made a commitment in 2017 that Qantas would conquer the final frontier of long-haul aviation and connect Australia’s east coast directly to London, something that has never before been possible. From October 2027, that promise becomes reality.”

VisitBritain chief executive Patricia Yates said: “Huge congratulations to Qantas on the announcement of its historic non-stop service from Sydney to London. Australia is one of our most valuable inbound markets, set to reach £1.8 billion this year in visitor spending, and expanding airline connectivity and seat capacity is fantastic news for our competitive tourism offer and our welcome.

“We look forward to welcoming even more Australians to experience everything Britain has to offer through this game-changing new route.”