Airbus plane with Flintshire-made wings breaks world record

The Airbus A350-1000ULR covered 12,503 nautical miles, equivalent to 23,155km, during an extraordinary flight from Melbourne in Australia to Toulouse in France.

The aircraft's wings were built at Airbus Broughton in Flintshire, where wings for the A350 family are manufactured.

The aircraft departed Melbourne at 5.27pm local time on Monday, July 27, and landed in Toulouse at 9.51am local time on Tuesday, July 28.

Its flight time was 24 hours and 24 minutes, with Airbus saying it has officially broken the Guinness World Record for the longest flight by distance by a commercial airliner.

The record was based on aircraft data independently validated by the International Aeronautical Federation and Flightradar24.

A350-1000ULR Long Haul Flight (Image: Airbus)

Despite the commercial airliner record, the journey was not a scheduled passenger service.

Instead, the Airbus-operated flight, using the call sign AIB35LR, formed part of the flight-test campaign for the A350-1000ULR, which is being developed for Qantas Airways under Project Sunrise.

After taking off from Melbourne, the aircraft flew over Sydney before heading north-east across the Pacific towards Los Angeles, crossing the international date line along the way.

It then crossed North America and the Atlantic before heading towards the UK, flying over London and continuing south to Toulouse.

The journey took the aircraft across three continents and two oceans, with those on board witnessing two sunsets and two sunrises.

There were 13 people on board, including three Airbus flight test pilots, two Qantas pilots, five Airbus flight test engineers, two Airbus design engineers and a representative of the International Aeronautical Federation.

The test flight was part of preparations for some of the world's longest planned non-stop passenger services.

Qantas intends to use the A350-1000ULR to operate direct flights between Sydney and London and New York for the first time, covering almost 10,000 nautical miles with flight times of up to 22 hours.

The additional range is primarily made possible by an extra rear centre fuel tank integrated into the aircraft's structure, which Airbus says increases its range by 1,000 nautical miles.

Qantas has ordered 12 A350-1000ULRs under Project Sunrise, alongside 12 standard A350-1000s for use across its long-haul network.

The record-breaking aircraft, known as MSN 707, was the first A350-1000ULR produced for Qantas and has been used for the flight-test programme.

The second A350-1000ULR produced for Qantas is scheduled to be the first delivered to the airline, in April 2027.

Airbus said the Sydney-London service is expected to begin later in 2027.

Lars Wagner, chief executive officer of commercial aircraft at Airbus, said: "Flying 12,503 nautical miles non-stop, we have fully proven the aircraft's capability to fulfill its mission. And the world record was the icing on the cake!"

The achievement gives the Flintshire-built wings a role in a new aviation world record as Airbus and Qantas prepare for non-stop passenger services connecting Sydney with London and New York.