Updated : Oct 21, 2019, 01:27 PM IST | Edited by : Abhishek Sharma
Australian airline Qantas completed the longest non-stop commercial passenger flight on Sunday morning when it touched down at the Sydney airport. The plane took off from New York's JFK airport and took 19 hours and 16 minutes to finish the 16,200-kilometer journey.
The flight QFQF7879, a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, had just 49 passengers onboard, and this is the first of three "ultra-long-haul" journeys planned by the airline this year. The company has scheduled two more such flights. The next test flight will take place in from London to Sydney in November while there will be another New York to Sydney flight before the end of this year.
Alan Joyce, the chief executive of the airline, hailed the achievement as a "significant first for aviation" that he hopes will become a regular, time-saving service for passengers.
"This is a really significant first for aviation. Hopefully, it's a preview of a regular service that will speed up how people travel from one side of the globe to the other", he told reporters.
Video credits: Qantas
Qantas had partnered with two Australian universities to monitor the effects of jetlag on the health of passengers and crew members as they crossed multiple time zones.
During the flight, passengers set their watches to Sydney time and were kept awake until night fell in eastern Australia through lighting, exercise, caffeine and a spicy meal. They were also advised to keep a daily log in the lead-up to the flight and for two weeks afterward, to show how they feel and how they've coped with jet lag.
The four pilots on board, who rotated between flying duties, also wore monitoring devices that tracked their brain waves and alertness.
Last year, Qantas introduced the first direct service from Perth to London, with the 17-hour journey one of the longest passenger flights in the world.
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 "World's longest direct flight arrives in Sydney from New York. Photo: Photo by James D Morgan/Qantas")
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