The world's longest flight is put to the test

The world’s longest flight is being put to the test with Airbus’ A350-1000ULR, marking the aircraft’s first-ever nonstop test departure from France to Melbourne. The plane is scheduled to complete a Toulouse-to-Melbourne run lasting more than 19 hours, with projected routes extending up to 22 hours and over 10,000 miles. Developed for Qantas, the jet features an extra 20,000-liter fuel tank and is being evaluated by four Airbus flight test pilots and five flight test engineers. After Thursday’s initial test, the aircraft is expected to repeat the process again on Monday. The test campaign supports Qantas’ “Project Sunrise” plan to launch the world’s longest non-stop commercial flight between Sydney and London in October 2027.