Two sunrises and two sunsets in 24 hours: Airbus A350 breaks 21-year flight record, covers 23,155 km nonstop

In a groundbreaking feat, the Airbus A350-1000ULR completed a non-stop flight of 12,503 nautical miles from Melbourne to Toulouse in an impressive 24 hours and 24 minutes in late July 2026. This historic endeavor broke a 21-year reign held by Boeing, while the flight's journey was followed by millions online.

Airbus has officially achieved a significant milestone in aviation history with the completion of a test flight carried by the A350-1000ULR aircraft, which completed the longest commercial flight distance ever recorded. It made a journey of 12,503 nautical miles (23,155 kilometres) nonstop that took 24 hours and 24 minutes to complete. The achievement won the Guinness World Record on November 9, 2026.

According to Airbus, the record-breaking flight took place on July 27-28, when the specially configured aircraft travelled from Melbourne, Australia, to Toulouse, France. The achievement was independently validated using aircraft data by the International Aeronautical Federation and flight-tracking platform Flightradar24.

Airbus A350-1000ULR surpasses Boeing's 21-year-old record

Operating under the callsign AIB35LR, the aircraft departed Melbourne at 5:27 pm local time on July 27 and arrived in Toulouse at 9:51 am local time the following day. Rather than taking a direct route, it crossed the Pacific Ocean towards North America, flew across the United States, crossed the Atlantic and continued towards France.

The journey also crossed the International Date Line, with the 13 people aboard witnessing two sunrises and two sunsets.

The achievement ended Boeing's 21-year hold on the distance record. In November 2005, a Boeing 777-200LR flew 11,664 nautical miles between Hong Kong and London in 22 hours and 42 minutes. Airbus's latest achievement surpassed that distance by 839 nautical miles.

The flight attracted considerable attention online. Flightradar24 reported that 3,652,947 people followed the aircraft, making it the platform's second-most-tracked flight ever, behind the final flight of Queen Elizabeth II.

This aircraft is designed for

Qantas Airlines in Australia as part of their Project Sunrise program, which hopes to start nonstop flights from Sydney to London and New York.

The fuel tank located in the rear center of the aircraft gives 20,000 liters of additional fuel, thus increasing the operating distance of the standard A350-1000 model by about 1,000 nautical miles. Qantas has ordered 12 A350-1000ULR planes which will each be able to fit 238 passengers.

According to Flightradar24, the first aircraft is scheduled for delivery in April 2027, with commercial Sydney-London services expected to begin in October 2027.