When an airline achieves its longest nonstop flight, it tends to be a big deal for both the airline and those who have an interest in said airline. Qantas’ longest flight, #QF9 has been flying between Perth and London Heathrow since March 24, 2018. Operated on the carrier’s Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners, it also happens to be the fourth longest route in the world.
Here’s a seating map of the plane, which holds up to 236 passengers:
Qantas QF9 was the first non-stop scheduled flight between Australia and Britain, which, at the time, labeled it as “historic” and a “game changer.” However although the flights will continue, Qantas has announced they will no longer be nonstops.
The reason why
Due to the escalating tensions in the Middle East, Qantas has announced it will no longer fly over Iranian airspace. This rerouting, which is being referred to as a “temporary adjustment,” means the plane won’t have enough fuel to make the entire route nonstop. So, QF9 flights will now include a stop in Singapore for refueling. The new flight as been assigned QF209.
The flight had previously taken roughly 17.5 hours. The stop in Singapore will add about an hour and a half to the flight. flightradar24 shows flight QF9 was canceled on Friday, Saturday and Sunday last week (as well as, so far, Monday and Tuesday this week), so there is no word on how long the flight will take with the routing included. QF209 has been flying as scheduled.
Return flights
The return flight, from London to Perth, will remain a non-stop flight, but will follow a modified route to accommodate prevailing wind conditions.
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