Australian Airline Qantas Breaks a World Record with a Direct Flight from London to Sydney

Australian airline Qantas set a record. The carrier's plane flew from London to Sydney without making any intermediate stops.

The flight was part of a research study on ways to minimize the negative effects of long flights for passengers and improve crew health. So the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner flew 17,800 kilometers in 19 hours, and 50 passengers on board saw a double sunrise.

For the purpose of the test flight, the aircraft carried as much fuel as possible, and no excess cargo on board except passengers and crew.

This is the second time in history that a civil airline has flown without a stop. In 1989, Qantas operated a cargo flight between London and Sydney, which lasted over 20 hours.

Last month, again, a Qantas plane successfully completed the world's longest direct civil aviation flight from New York to Sydney. The 16,200 km route was completed in 19 hours and 16 minutes.

Qantas named the effort "Project Sunrise" after the airline's endurance flights during the second world war, The Guardian reported.