Airbus has confirmed that its A350-1000ULR has officially broken the Guinness World Record for the longest flight by distance by a commercial airliner, covering 23,155 kilometres (12,503 nautical miles) non-stop in 24 hours and 24 minutes. The record was based on aircraft data independently validated by the International Aeronautical Federation and flight-tracking platform Flightradar24.

The Airbus-operated flight, call sign AIB35LR, departed Melbourne, Australia, at 5.27 p.m. local time on Monday 27 July and landed in Toulouse, France, at 9.51 a.m. local time on Tuesday 28 July. After take-off it flew over Sydney before heading over the Pacific towards Los Angeles, crossing the International Date Line, then across North America and the Atlantic, over London and on to Toulouse. The crew witnessed two sunsets and two sunrises on the journey.

Beating a record held since 2005

The flight surpasses the previous record held by Boeing's 777-200LR, which covered about 11,664 nautical miles from Hong Kong to London in 22 hours and 42 minutes on a delivery flight in 2005. A total of 13 people were on board the A350, including three Airbus flight test pilots, two Qantas pilots, five Airbus flight test engineers, two design engineers and a representative of the International Aeronautical Federation. More than 3.6 million people followed the flight on Flightradar24, making it the platform's second-most tracked flight.

Built for Qantas Project Sunrise

The mission formed part of the flight test campaign for the A350-1000ULR, which Airbus is developing for Qantas Airways under Project Sunrise. The aircraft will enable Qantas to operate non-stop flights between Sydney and London and New York for the first time, with flight times of up to 22 hours. The extra range comes mainly from an additional rear centre tank, which adds 1,000 nautical miles. Qantas has ordered 12 A350-1000ULRs, with the first aircraft scheduled for delivery next April and entry into service on the Sydney-London route in October 2027. Airbus said the A350 family had won 1,628 orders from 70 customers by the end of October 2026, with more than 740 aircraft already flying with 42 operators.