Qantas has confirmed that it will launch non-stop 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 non-stop for up to 22 hours.
Qantas confirmed on Wednesday (17 June) 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 maiden 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’s 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 non-stop 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 refuelling stop in Singapore on the route since March.