Airbus sets record for longest nonstop commercial flight
The test flight covered 12,503 nautical miles from Melbourne to Toulouse in 24 hours and 24 minutes without landing.
Airbus set a Guinness World Record for the longest nonstop flight by a commercial airliner, using a test flight between Melbourne and Toulouse on July 27 and 28, Turkey's state-run news agency Anadolu Agency reported.
The aircraft manufacturer said Monday that the jet covered 12,503 nautical miles, or 23,155 kilometers, without stopping.
The plane left Melbourne at 5.27 p.m. local time on July 27 and landed in Toulouse at 9.51 a.m. local time on July 28, a trip lasting 24 hours and 24 minutes.
The flight was part of a test campaign for the A350-1000ULR, a model developed for Qantas Airways under its Project Sunrise program.
The record was certified using aircraft data independently validated by the International Aeronautical Federation and the flight-tracking platform Flightradar24.
The aircraft flew over Sydney and then headed toward Los Angeles across the Pacific Ocean.
It went on to cross North America and the Atlantic before passing over London and continuing to Toulouse.
The crew saw two sunsets and two sunrises during the journey.
The jet carries an extra 20,000-liter fuel tank and is powered by Rolls-Royce Trent XWB engines, and Qantas has ordered 12 of the aircraft.
Airlines have increasingly looked at ultra-long-range jets as a way to offer direct links between distant cities without the need for a stopover.