Australia’s national carrier Qantas has completed a 19-and-a-half hour non-stop flight from London to Sydney, part of a series of tests to assess the effects of very long-haul flights.
The Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner took off from London’s Heathrow Airport on Thursday morning and touched down at Sydney Airport 45 minutes behind schedule at 12:30 p.m. local time on Friday.
The 17,800 kilometer (11,060 mile) journey is part of Project Sunrise — Qantas’ goal to operate regular, non-stop commercial flights from Australia’s east coast cities of Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne to London and New York.
In this image made from video, Qantas Boeing 787 Dreamliner plane lands at Sydney airport in Sydney, Friday, Nov. 15, 2019. Australian airliner Qantas completed a non-stop flight from London to Sydney used to assess the effects of ultra-long-haul flights on crew fatigue and passenger jetlag.(Australia Pool via AP)
Last month, Qantas completed the first non-stop flight from New York to Sydney, which took 19 hours and 16 minutes.
Another New York to Sydney flight is expected next month to round out the project.