Qantas has reached a major milestone in its Project Sunrise program, with the first Airbus A350-1000ULR touching down in Australia after completing a 19-hour, 12-minute test flight from Airbus’ manufacturing facility in Toulouse.
The aircraft landed in Melbourne at 10:45 on 24 July, marking the first time the ultra-long-range aircraft has arrived on Australian soil ahead of its planned entry into service in 2027.
Milestone for ultra-long-haul operations
The Airbus A350-1000ULR will operate Qantas’ non-stop Sydney-London services from October 2027 as part of Project Sunrise, creating what the airline says will be the world’s longest non-stop commercial flights.
The test flight was conducted by four Airbus flight test pilots and five flight test engineers, who evaluated the aircraft’s systems, including its additional 20,000-litre fuel tank designed to enable flights of up to 22 hours.
Strong public interest in arrival
The aircraft’s journey attracted significant public attention, with more than 2.9 million people tracking the flight on Flightradar24, making it the platform’s second most tracked flight of all time.
The arrival marks the latest step in the certification and testing process ahead of the delivery of Qantas’ fleet of 12 Airbus A350-1000ULR aircraft, which will support the airline’s expansion into ultra-long-haul international services.
