Qantas completed what is believed to be the longest-ever commercial flight when its Airbus jet landed in Toulouse on Tuesday after a flight from Melbourne lasting 24 hours and 24 minutes.<\/p>\n
The flight, which triggered a surge in online tracking, is part of the airline\u2019s Project Sunrise in which it plans to use a new A350 jet to fly nonstop from Australia to London.<\/p>\n
Allow Instagram content?<\/p>\n
This article includes content provided by Instagram. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. To view this content, click ‘Allow and continue’.<\/p>\n
The specially adapted A350-1000ULR airliner \u2060is due to debut with the Australian carrier\u2019s nonstop Sydney-London route from 2027. \u200bAirbus has been conducting \u200ca two-month test campaign \u200con the aircraft since June.<\/p>\n
Airbus said the aircraft, which boasts a \u200cextra fuel tank, remained in the air for 24 hours and 24 minutes, covering 23,075km (14,338 miles) in a route over the Pacific and Atlantic oceans without stopping, before landing at the plane\u2019s factory in Toulouse in south-west France.<\/p>\n
Allow content provided by a third party?<\/p>\n
This article includes content hosted on platform.x.com. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as the provider may be using cookies and other technologies. To view this content, click ‘Allow and continue’.<\/p>\n
Tuesday\u2019s flight is thought to be the longest ever by a commercial plane, beating the previous record <\/a>of 22 hours and 42 minutes set by a Boeing 777\u2013200LR in 2005 between Hong Kong and London via the Pacific in 2005.<\/p>\n In a test last week, the plane flew from Toulouse to Melbourne via the Indian Ocean in just over 19 hours<\/a>.<\/p>\n