Australia’s Qantas operates 19 ½ hour London-Sydney flight

Australia’s Qantas operates 19 ½ hour London-Sydney flight

Australia’s national carrier Qantas has completed a 19-and-a-half hour non-stop flight from London to Sydney, part of a series of tests to assess the effects of very long-haul flights.

The Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner took off from London’s Heathrow Airport on Thursday morning and touched down at Sydney Airport 45 minutes behind schedule at 12:30 p.m. local time on Friday.

The 17,800 kilometer (11,060 mile) journey is part of Project Sunrise — Qantas’ goal to operate regular, non-stop commercial flights from Australia’s east coast cities of Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne to London and New York.

Last month, Qantas completed the first non-stop flight from New York to Sydney, which took 19 hours and 16 minutes.

Another New York to Sydney flight is expected next month to round out the project.