Airbus A350-1000ULR lands in Melbourne after non-stop test flight from France
Updated ,first published
Qantas’ Project Sunrise aircraft landed in Australia today after a more than 19-hour direct flight from the factory in France.
The specially adapted Airbus A350-1000ULR touched down in Melbourne on Friday after conducting a flight test designed to increase range capability.
It is equipped with an additional 20,000 liter fuel tank, increasing the aircraft’s range to over 18,000 km.
The Airbus aircraft are designed to fly non-stop for up to 22 hours, the longest commercial flights in the world, and will directly connect Australia to London and New York.
Qantas’ ambitious service was closely watched by the global aviation community. Flight tracking service FlightRadar24For example, it showed more than 60,000 people following the plane’s journey as it landed.
Once activated in Qantas’ fleet, the A350-1000 ULR will be able to travel directly between Sydney and London, flying over parts of Eurasia, over Europe or across the Pacific and then over the Arctic.
Qantas officials said the fastest flight from Sydney to London will take 19 hours and 25 minutes, while the slowest flight will take about 21 hours. The journey from London to Sydney will take 18-20 hours.
Qantas chief technical pilot Alex Passerini told a meeting in Toulouse in June that the time of the flight would vary “from day to day” and would be “hugely affected by the winds”.
The aircraft, still in its main fairing, was flown to Melbourne by four Airbus flight test pilots and five flight test engineers who “will test the aircraft’s systems”. Two Qantas pilots will join the Airbus flight test team for the return journey to France.
The aircraft completed its first flight on June 2, 2026. Since then, Airbus’s test teams have carried out extensive ground and air testing in Toulouse, including the aircraft’s redesigned fuel system.
Sydneysiders who felt left out after the first sighting of the Project Sunrise plane don’t despair. Project Sunrise aircraft are expected to begin flying between London and Sydney from October 2027.
There are currently no plans to map Project Sunrise’s routes to and from Melbourne.
