The World’s Longest Direct Flight Takes Off—Clocking In At Nearly 20 Hours

The thought of being squeezed inside a metal tube for several hours may be daunting enough for some, but imagine being on an aircraft for nearly 20 hours.

October 18 marks the first test flight of Qantas’ Project Sunrise, which aims to link Sydney to both London and New York direct.

The 10,000-mile journey will be the first test flights that the Australian airline operates to quantify the effect flying such vast distances has on passengers, including their physical well-being.

With the time-zone change clocking in at 15 hours between Sydney and New York, Qantas isn’t yet selling tickets for this direct flight.

Instead, 40 crew members will be embarking on the journey—departing JFK on Friday night and landing in Sydney on its Sunday morning—to assess behaviours such as how much they move around the cabin, what they eat and how much they sleep, before the airline aims to launch the flights commercially in 2022.

Although the flight will be operated by a Boeing 787-9, Qantas is pushing both Airbus and Boeing to adapt current models of both the A350 and 777x to allow the route to be commercially viable, as I previously wrote.

What Effect Does Flying Such Long Distances Have On Our Bodies?

Ultra-long-haul flights have become increasingly commonplace over the last few years. More fuel-efficient aircraft and passenger’s increasing desire for point to point transfers has meant that Singapore Airlines already operates a 19-hour direct flight from Newark to Singapore on their A350-900ULR.

Comparatively, Qantas has been operating Perth to London direct on a 9,000-mile haul since 2018 so you could be forgiven for thinking that an extra hour or two may not make a huge amount of difference, however there are various issues that health-conscious passengers should consider when flying such vast distances.

Deep Vein Thrombosis

Also known as DVT, passengers who are sat still for prolonged periods can be susceptible to blood clots in their legs or thighs particularly. Guidance suggests taking regular walks around the cabin and doing various exercises on long-haul flights to keep blood circulating in all the right places.

In addition to this, compression socks can also help in keeping swelling to a minimum if you are prone to this in pressurised cabins.

Dehydration

Flying will dry out almost anyone’s skin after several hours, so it is important to stay hydrated. Humidity in an airplane cabin is usually less than 20% which is not too dissimilar to the humidity in a desert.

On a 10-hour flight alone, passengers can lose between 1.5-2 liters of water, so it’s important on ultra-long-haul journeys to stay well hydrated, and that means avoiding coffee if possible.

Aircraft Type

This makes a huge difference to me personally. Many U.S. carriers have failed to modernise their fleet as rapidly as Asian and Middle-Eastern airlines. Flying on an older Boeing 767 or 777-200s is going to mean you feel the effects of older aircraft, and their higher cabin pressure when you land after a long-haul flight. Although U.S. carriers are slowly starting to take delivery of more 787s and a350s, they still fly, on average, some of the oldest fleets in the world.

If you are taking ultra-long flights, it’s worth looking for the most modern aircraft such as the 787-9, which Qantas will be using for their Project Sunrise test flight. The air filtration system on the 787 eliminates irritants that produce a drying effect, and Boeing says that the cabin is pressurised to just 6,000 feet rather than 8,000 feet, which reduces jet lag and headaches. Although the Dreamliner doesn’t stop jet lag, it certainly helps to combat the effects better than many other aircraft.

Radiation

A point that many flyers don’t consider. If you fly infrequently then there is little to be concerned about in regards to radiation. However, if you’re a regular passenger on long-haul flights, and especially routes that fly over the poles then you will have greater exposure to cosmic ionizing radiation, simply by being closer to space.

For example, Singapore Airlines’ route from New York to Singapore direct on the Airbus A350 takes a route that flies almost directly over the North Pole. The proximity to space it closer, but, unless you take almost daily flights, this is of limited concern to passengers, and more so for the flight crew.

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Correction, October 18: This post has been updated to reflect the correct length of the flight and its departure.