Airbus has completed a marathon test flight lasting more than 24 hours, as an A350 aircraft being developed for future record-breaking commercial flights landed in France from Melbourne on Tuesday (28/7).

According to a report by Reuters, the test represents a key step in Australian airline Qantas’s “Project Sunrise,” which aims to launch the world’s longest commercial passenger flights and reshape long-distance travel by eliminating stopovers between Australia and Europe.

The specially modified A350-1000ULR aircraft is expected to make its debut on Qantas’s nonstop Sydney–London route from 2027. The first aircraft, which will carry 20,000 liters of fuel and feature 238 passenger seats, is expected to be delivered in April 2027.

It Stayed in the Air for 24 Hours and 24 Minutes and Covered 23,075 Kilometers Nonstop

Airbus has been conducting a two-month testing campaign with the aircraft since June. According to the company, the aircraft, which features a specially designed additional fuel tank, remained airborne for 24 hours and 24 minutes, covering 23,075 kilometers without stopping before landing at the aircraft manufacturer’s facility in Toulouse, France.

The flight-tracking application Flightradar24 highlighted that the flight was the second most tracked flight ever recorded in the app’s history, with more than 3.6 million people watching the aircraft’s route live. The top position is held by a 2024 flight that carried the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II.

In 2005, a Boeing 777-200LR Worldliner flew 21,601.7 kilometers from Hong Kong to London in 22 hours and 42 minutes.

Qantas has ordered 12 modified A350-1000ULR aircraft designed to connect Australia’s eastern coast with London and New York in approximately 20 hours. The goal of these flights is to transform the journey to London—which once took five days via the “Kangaroo Route”—into a single flight lasting 19 to 21 hours, depending on the route and wind conditions.

Qantas plans to operate daily nonstop flights between Sydney and London from October 2027.