Qantas has confirmed that it will launch nonstop flights
between Sydney and London from October 2027.
The Australian carrier has been forced to put back the launch of the ultra-long-haul
flights, known as Project Sunrise, because of delays to deliveries of Airbus
A350-1000 aircraft, which will be used on the route as they can fly nonstop
for up to 22 hours.
Qantas confirmed on Wednesday that London Heathrow would be
the launch route for its ultra-long-haul services from Sydney, which will also
operate between Sydney and New York. Flight time between London and Sydney is
expected to be around 19 hours.
When Project Sunrise launches, it will be first time that
flights have operated between London and Australia’s east coast without any
stops.
The announcement comes after the airline unveiled its first
Airbus A350-1000ULR in Qantas livery at Airbus’ factory in Toulouse. Earlier
this month, the carrier completed its test flight of the new aircraft when
pilots successfully flew for nearly four hours from Toulouse over France and
the French Atlantic coast.
Qantas Group CEO Vanessa Hudson said in a statement:
“Qantas was built on the belief that Australia's distance from the rest of the
world should never stand in the way.
“The pioneering spirit of generations of our people has
forged that path ever since, and today is the most significant step in that
mission in our 105-year history.”
Qantas started nonstop flights between Perth in Western
Australia and London in 2018. But airspace restrictions in the Middle East, due
to the Iran war, have forced the airline to temporarily introduce a refueling
stop in Singapore on the route since March.