Qantas Airbus A350-1000ULR record-breaking test flights and Project Sunrise launch details
Consensus Summary
Qantas and Airbus have completed record-breaking test flights using the Airbus A350-1000ULR aircraft, part of Project Sunrise aimed at launching nonstop flights between Sydney and London. The aircraft set a new record for the longest nonstop commercial flight, lasting 24 hours and 24 minutes, covering 23,075 km from Melbourne to Toulouse in July 2026. This surpasses the previous record of 22 hours and 42 minutes set by a Boeing 777-200LR in 2005. Qantas plans to operate daily nonstop flights between Sydney and London from October 2027, reducing the journey time from a five-day Kangaroo Route to 19 to 21 hours. The airline has ordered 12 of these aircraft, each seating 238 passengers and carrying 20,000 litres of extra fuel, with the first delivery scheduled for April 2027. The test flights have drawn significant public interest, with over 3.6 million people tracking the Melbourne-Toulouse flight on Flightradar24. The project has faced delays, with earlier announcements suggesting a launch in the first half of 2027, but Airbus’s delivery timeline pushed the start date to October 2027.
✓ Verified by 2+ sources
Key details reported by multiple sources:
- Qantas completed a 24 hours and 24 minutes nonstop flight from Melbourne to Toulouse in July 2026, covering 23,075 km
- The flight broke the previous record of 22 hours and 42 minutes set by a Boeing 777-200LR in 2005 between Hong Kong and London
- Qantas ordered 12 modified A350-1000ULR aircraft, each seating 238 passengers and carrying 20,000 litres of extra fuel
- The first A350-1000ULR aircraft is due for delivery in April 2027
- Qantas plans to launch daily nonstop flights between Sydney and London from October 2027
- The new flights aim to reduce the Sydney-London journey from a five-day Kangaroo Route to 19 to 21 hours
- The Airbus A350-1000ULR test campaign began in June 2026
- The flight from Toulouse to Melbourne in July 2026 took 19 hours and was tracked by over 3.6 million people on Flightradar24
Points of Difference
Details reported by only one source:
- The Toulouse-Melbourne test flight in July 2026 was the second-most-tracked flight ever on Flightradar24, behind a 2024 flight carrying Queen Elizabeth II’s coffin
- The Airbus A350-1000ULR was first flown on 2 June 2026 for three hours 43 minutes over France and the French Atlantic coast
- The return flight from Melbourne to Toulouse took 23 hours, as crews tested systems including fuel transfer and air conditioning
- Qantas mentioned Melbourne and Brisbane as potential hubs for direct flights to London and New York City in previous announcements, though the latest update did not specify these cities
- The first aircraft in Qantas livery, named Vega, is still on the assembly line and will be delivered in April 2027
- The flight from Toulouse to Melbourne departed at 7.33am on Thursday and landed at 10.46am on Friday
- The aircraft covered 17,000km during the Toulouse-Melbourne test flight
- The flight from Toulouse to Melbourne via the Indian Ocean took just over 19 hours in a test last week
- The Airbus A350-1000ULR’s extra fuel tank enables it to fly ultra long-haul routes of almost 10,000 nautical miles (18,500km)
- The Boeing 777-200LR record flight in 2005 covered 21,601.7 kilometres
Contradictions
Conflicting information between sources:
- The Guardian states the Toulouse-Melbourne flight took 19 hours, while the ABC mentions the same flight took 19 hours but also notes the return flight took 23 hours, which is not contradicted by the Guardian
- The Guardian mentions the flight from Toulouse to Melbourne departed at 7.33am on Thursday and landed at 10.46am on Friday, while the ABC does not specify these times
- The Guardian notes the Airbus A350-1000ULR was first flown on 2 June 2026, but the ABC does not mention this date
Source Articles
Qantas plane flies for more than 24 hours in record-breaking flight
The A350 landed in Toulouse 24 hours and 24 minutes after leaving Melbourne as airline plans direct London service Qantas completed what is believed to be the longest-ever commercial flight when its Airbus jet landed in Toulouse on Tuesday after a flight from Melbourne lasting 24 hours and 24 minutes. The flight, which triggered a surge in online tracking, is part of the airline’s Project Sunrise in which it plans to use a new A350 jet to fly non-stop from Australia to London. Continue reading..
Qantas tests new ultra long-range Airbus in 17,000km direct flight from France to Melbourne
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