Airbus A350-1000ULR flew 23,155 km nonstop from Melbourne to Toulouse, a record for an airliner
Guinness authenticated the record set on 27–28 July 2026 during test flights for Qantas's Project Sunrise. The flight lasted 24 hours 24 minutes with 13 people aboard.
Airbus announced on Monday 9 November 2026 that its A350-1000ULR (Ultra Long Range) set the world record for the longest flight by an airliner, actu.fr reports. The aircraft covered 12,503 nautical miles (23,155 km) nonstop between Melbourne, Australia, and Toulouse-Blagnac on 27–28 July 2026. Guinness World Records authenticated the result actu.fr
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Route and flight data
The aircraft, developed for Qantas Airways, took off from Melbourne on Monday 27 July at 17:27 local time. It landed in Toulouse on Tuesday 28 July at 9:51 French time, so the flight lasted 24 hours 24 minutes.
After departure it crossed the Pacific towards Los Angeles, then flew over North America and the Atlantic, and turned south to Toulouse via the United Kingdom. The crew saw two sunsets and two sunrises during the flight.
The flight was part of a two-month test campaign that began on 2 June 2026 under Project Sunrise, which links Airbus and Qantas. One of the goals set for Airbus was a flight of 23 hours in total, to simulate the longest commercial flights the aircraft could operate actu.fr
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Crew and tracking
There were no regular passengers on board, only 13 people: three Airbus test pilots, two Qantas pilots, five Airbus flight test engineers and two Airbus design engineers. The thirteenth was a representative of the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale, who validated the record from the aircraft's data together with Flightradar24.
According to Flightradar24, 3,652,947 people followed the flight. That is the second-highest figure on the site, behind the flight of 13 September 2022 that carried the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II from Edinburgh to RAF Northolt, which had 4.79 million.
Orders and delivery schedule
Lars Wagner, head of Airbus's Commercial Aircraft division, said that by flying 12,503 nautical miles nonstop the company had fully demonstrated the aircraft's ability to fulfil its mission actu.fr
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Qantas has ordered 12 A350-1000ULR aircraft under Project Sunrise. According to Airbus, the first is due for delivery in April 2027 and is to enter service on the Sydney–London route later that year. Qantas has also ordered 12 standard A350-1000s, to be operated later on its long-haul network.
