The first ever scheduled non-stop flight between Australia and the UK has just been completed!

The first scheduled non-stop flight between Australia and the UK has touched down in London’s Heathrow Airport on Sunday Morning! Qantas Flight QF9 completed its 14,498km journey from Perth to London in just over 17 hours.

The airline is using the new generation Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, which is twice as fuel-efficient as the Boeing 747.

It is part of ambitious plans by Qantas to add ultra long-haul flights to its schedules.

Chief Executive of Qantas, Alan Joyce, has called the new Perth-London service a “game-changing route”.

The historic flight, carrying more than 200 passengers and 16 crew, departed from Perth at 18:49 local time on Saturday. To minimise the discomfort of such a long flight, the plane is equipped with features that provide improved air quality and lower cabin noise.

The new Perth-London flight is around three hours faster than other routes that involve stops in the Middle East to change planes or refuel.

The flight is only the world’s second-longest after Qatar Airways’ route from Doha to Auckland, which spans 14,529km (only 31 km longer, than the Perth – London route), according to the International Air Transport Association.

Source: BBC