Airbus A350-1000ULR Sets Record with 24-Hour Nonstop Flight

A specially adapted Airbus A350-1000ULR airliner landed in Toulouse, France, on Tuesday, July 28, 2026, after completing a nonstop test flight from Melbourne, Australia, that lasted 24 hours and 24 minutes. The flight, which covered 23,075 kilometers (14,338 miles), is believed to have set a new world record for the longest nonstop flight by a commercial aircraft.

The marathon journey is a key milestone for Qantas's Project Sunrise, an initiative aimed at launching the world's longest commercial passenger flights. The program seeks to reshape long-haul travel by eliminating stopovers on routes connecting Australia with Europe and North America. The test aircraft, equipped with a specially designed extra fuel tank, flew a route over the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, tracking northward via Canada and Greenland before landing at the Airbus factory in Toulouse.

Public interest in the flight was exceptionally high. Flight-tracking provider Flightradar24 reported it was the second-most-tracked flight in its history, with more than 3.6 million people following its progress online. This level of attention was surpassed only by a 2024 flight carrying the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II.