Qantas airlines which is Australia’s national carrier have said it has purchased a new fleet of 12 Airbus A350-1000 jets that will be capable to go directly to any city in the world. They will start with the first Sydney-London flights that will start departing in late 2025 and will take on average 20 hours, which will make it the world’s longest passenger flight. It will then eventually run on non-stop flights from Sydney and Melbourne to London and New York, this new project is called “Project Sunrise”.

Qantas had started on ‘Project Sunrise’ five years ago but due to the Covid-19 Pandemic it was delayed. In 2018 Qantas started to offer a 17-hour direct flights between London and Perth in Western Australia, in 2019 Qantas conducted multiple test flights from the east coast to the UK and New York. The airline says that it should be 25% more fuel-efficient than previous aircraft.

The new 12 Airbus A350 will be arriving in 2025 and the order should be completed by 2028. Each plane will be able to carry 238 passengers and the seats will be more roomier than usual, passengers will also be able to access a ‘Wellbeing zone’ that will be in the centre of the plane. There will also be a self-service snack bar and some room for stretching and movement to combat the effects of spending 20 hours on the plane in the air.

Chief Executive Alan Joyce said: “The A350 and ‘Project Sunrise’ will make any city just one flight away from Australia, it’s the last frontier and the final fix for the tyranny of distance.”