An Airbus A350-1000 ULR has broken the Guinness World Record for the longest continuous flight completed by a single aircraft. The jet completed the journey from Melbourne Airport (MEL) to Toulouse Blagnac Airport (TLS) July. 27-28, 2026, with Airbus announcing its achievement Monday Nov. 9. The flight was completed as part of Australian airline Qantas Airways Limited’s Project Sunrise testing programme.
How did Airbus break the record?
Airbus and Qantas announced on Monday that they’d completed the record-breaking 23,155km back in July.
A team of five pilots worked in a pattern of overlapping four-hour shifts to safely steer the A350-1000 ULR to TLS.
The jet took-off from MEL at 5:27pm July. 27, Australian Eastern Daylight Time, arriving at TLS at 9:51am July. 28, Central European Time, for a total flight time of 24 hours 24 minutes.
The jet flew eastwards over the Pacific Ocean and North America, meaning that the crew and passengers experienced two sunrises and two sunsets during the flight.
Among those passengers was a representative from Guinness’ aviation partner the International Aeronautical Federation (IAF).
The IAF reportedly initially recorded the flight as being 23,076km, but later revised its judgement.
What was the purpose of the flight?
Airbus’ achievement breaks the record set by the Boeing 777-200 LR Worldline when it completed a 21,601km flight Nov. 9, 2005.
As well as earning bragging rights, and a potential commercial boost for Airbus, the flight has proved the viability of using the A350-1000 ULR on ultra-long range flights.
This test flight was completed using pilots from the Australian flag carrier Qantas, as part of its Project Sunrise testing programme.
Project Sunrise aims to establish a route between Sydney Airport (SYD) and a London airport, with non-stop flights planned for October 2027.
Airbus’ Commercial Aircraft CEO, Lars Wagner, said that,
“This achievement reflects the pioneering and innovative spirit that is part of our DNA at Airbus. We have fully proven the aircraft’s capability to fulfil its mission. And the world record was the icing on the cake!”
Airbus placed particular focus on how the A350-1000 ULR’s fuel management and cabin environmental systems responded over the course of such a long flight.
Are you impressed by the new record? Do you think this will help Airbus commercially? Let us know in the comments.
