The aircraft developed for Qantas’ Project Sunrise covered 23,155 kilometres on a non-stop journey from Melbourne to Toulouse, officially claiming the Guinness World Record for the longest flight by distance by a commercial airliner.
The record-setting flight took place on 27 July, when the aircraft departed Melbourne at 17:27 local time before arriving at Airbus’ headquarters in Toulouse, France, the following morning. The journey lasted 24 hours and 24 minutes, covering 12,503 nautical miles (23,155 kilometres) without a stop.
The achievement has now been officially recognised by Guinness World Records, with the flight data independently validated by the International Aeronautical Federation (FAI) and Flightradar24.
A Record-Breaking Flight Across Three Continents
Operating under the callsign AIB35LR, the aircraft followed an unusual routing after departing Australia. It first flew over Sydney before heading north-east across the Pacific Ocean towards Los Angeles.
From there, the aircraft crossed North America and the Atlantic Ocean before passing over London and continuing south-east towards Toulouse.
The journey crossed three continents and two oceans, with the crew experiencing two sunsets and two sunrises during the flight.
There were 13 people on board, comprising three Airbus flight test pilots, two Qantas pilots, five flight test engineers, two design engineers and an FAI representative. Airbus
Developed For Qantas’ Project Sunrise
The record-setting journey formed part of Airbus’ flight-testing programme for the A350-1000ULR, a specially developed variant of the A350-1000 designed to support Qantas’ ambitious Project Sunrise initiative.
The Australian carrier plans to introduce non-stop services connecting Sydney with London and New York, with flight times expected to reach approximately 22 hours. Achieving those distances requires additional fuel capacity.
Airbus has integrated a rear centre tank (RCT) into the aircraft’s structure, increasing its range by approximately 1,000 nautical miles compared with the standard A350-1000.
The manufacturer also had to demonstrate that the aircraft could sustain exceptionally long operations. One of the requirements involved completing a sector with a block time of 23 hours, measured from aircraft pushback to arrival at the parking stand. The Melbourne-Toulouse flight exceeded that requirement in actual airborne time, demonstrating the aircraft’s endurance capabilities during the certification campaign.
Qantas Prepares For Ultra-Long-Haul Operations
Qantas has ordered 12 A350-1000ULR aircraft for Project Sunrise, with the first delivery scheduled for April 2027. The airline expects to introduce the type on its Sydney-London route later that year.
In addition to the ultra-long-range aircraft, Qantas has another 12 standard A350-1000s on order for its future long-haul operations.
The A350-1000ULR is the fourth passenger variant of Airbus’ A350 family, joining the A350-900, A350-900ULR and A350-1000.
The A350 programme had accumulated 1,628 orders from 70 customers by the end of October 2026, with more than 740 aircraft already in service across 42 operators.
