3.6mn people track 24hr Qantas flight from Melbourne to Toulouse: Pilot shifts, fuel tank and other details

A Qantas flight flew for more than 24 hours from Melbourne to France, setting a record in the skies. The Airbus has been upgraded to undertake the world’s longest nonstop commercial flights starting next year. It flew from Toulouse on July 23 for 19 hours and 13 minutes before landing in Melbourne, Australia, on July 24, its first ultra-long-haul test flight. It then took off from Australia for Toulouse on July 27 and landed on July 28, flying non-stop for 24 hours and 25 minutes.

Airbus has developed the A350-1000ULR for Qantas Airways, which plans to start nonstop flights between Sydney and either New York or London in 2027. The airline has ordered a dozen aircraft for its Project Sunrise routes and bookings will open in February.

The latest flight to Toulouse covered 12,460 nautical miles in total, Airbus said. Data from flight-tracking service Flightradar24 shows the route stretched across the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, and North America. Its previous flight from Toulouse covered 17,000km with four Airbus pilots and the five flight-test engineers on board. They monitored the aircraft systems in the cockpit and from the main cabin. The return flight to Toulouse had two Qantas pilots, besides the test flight crew, including three Airbus pilots and five flight-test engineers.

Also Read: Why more than 75,000 people watched a record Qantas flight on Flightradar24 Friday?

Pilot shifts, resting spaces on Qantas Airbus A350-1000ULR

“We have organised a schedule to allow a Qantas pilot to take the controls at specific times,” Xavier Pepin, the Airbus test pilot who captained the return flight, said in a post. Each pilot covered a four-hour shift, and the crew was rotated every two hours. "This staggered approach ensures that when a new pilot joins the cockpit, they overlap for two hours with the outgoing pilot," he said.

A twin flight crew rest compartment allows pilots to enter or exit rest areas without disturbing each other. The plane has been fitted with an extra rear centre fuel tank that can carry 20,900 litres, which helps it fly the extra 1,000 nautical miles. This allows it to travel non-stop for nearly 10,000 nautical miles.

3.6 million people tracked return flight to Toulouse

The return flight from Melbourne was tracked by 3.6 million people, according to Flightradar24. This makes it the second-most-tracked flight ever on the flight tracking service. The Royal Air Force flight that carried Queen Elizabeth II’s coffin in 2022 remains the most-tracked flight. More than 75,000 people tracked the initial flight to Melbourne.

Current longest flight

The current record holder for the longest non-stop flight is Singapore Airlines, which connects New York City and Singapore and flies for 18-19 hours. Qantas Airways is hoping to keep the time under 21 hours and 40 minutes. It would carry up to 238 passengers, with more than 40 per cent of seats allocated to First, Business, and Premium Economy tickets.