A flight to Sydney, Australia, in the UK takes around 30 hours with a stopover, but a quicker and alternative route is on the cards, set to launch soon. The Australia airline, Qantas Airway is planning to launch the first ever non-stop flight between London and Sydney in 2027. The “ultra long-haul” flight will last a whopping 22 hours and cross 10,573 miles.

The new direct route will also pass over Japan and the North Pole at certain times of the year to follow the direction of the wind. Passengers will also experience two sunrises while on board the single flight, and therefore, the plans for the new route are called Project Sunrise. Qantas Airways is aware that the soon-to-be record-breaking flight is a long time to be in the air, and so it is working hard to make sure the journey is comfy for passengers.

It will also be the first airline to offer a dedicated “wellness zone”.

Vanessa Hudson, Qantas chief executive, told the Independent: “Project Sunrise is a four-cabin aircraft, so it’s first class, business class, premium economy and economy. This gives us the ability to redefine the next cabin experience for all of those.

“We’ve got Charles Perkins University working with us, looking at how to manage jet leg, how to eat, when to sleep, when to move. We’re going to be building an integral part of the in-flight experience.”

Plenty of detailed planning and research is going into the flight to ensure everything runs smoothly once it launches. Pilots have been collecting wind data and carrying out “lots of flight-planning simulations”. The CEO revealed that the Airbus A350 will “enter the production cycle in September this year”.

The project was initially due to be completed by 2024 but faced various delays. It was then anticipated to launch in 2026 but waser pushed back lat to “very early in 2027”.

Initially, it will connect Sydney nonstop to either London Heathrow or New York JFK. A decision has not yet been made about which city will be chosen, but London has always been the flagship route for Qantas.