Airbus A350-1000ULR Sets Global Endurance Record with 24-Hour Nonstop Flight. The Airbus A350-1000ULR (Ultra Long Range) has set a new Guinness World Record by completing the longest nonstop commercial flight by distance and endurance in aviation history. The long-range widebody covered 23,155 kilometers (12,503 nautical miles) between Melbourne, Australia, and Toulouse, France, clocking an airborne time of 24 hours and 24 minutes. The operation was officially validated by the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) and Flightradar24.
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Operating under test callsign AIB35LR, the twinjet departed Melbourne, climbed across the Pacific toward North America, traversed the United States, and crossed the Atlantic into Europe to land at Airbus headquarters in Toulouse. The crew comprised 13 individuals, including test pilots and performance engineers from Airbus and Qantas, alongside an FAI delegate. The long-range test flight represents a key evaluation milestone for Project Sunrise, Qantas’ initiative to introduce regular point-to-point services linking Sydney with London and New York on stage lengths of up to 22 flight hours without intermediate stops.
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The platform’s extended capability is enabled by the integration of an additional Rear Centre Tank (RCT) directly within the fuselage structure, extending its operating range by approximately 1,000 nautical miles. Qantas holds firm commitments for 12 A350-1000ULR aircraft, with the initial delivery scheduled for April 2027, backed by 12 standard A350-1000 orders. Across the widebody sector, the Airbus A350 family had logged 1,628 orders from 70 global customers through October 2026, with over 740 airframes flying across 42 airlines.
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