Boarding in 2025, direct flights from UK to Sydney

TRAVELLERS will soon be able to fly directly from London to Sydney, it emerged yesterday.

Revealing plans for what will be the world’s longest passenger flight, Australian airline Qantas said it was aiming to offer tickets by the end of 2025.

Flying the 10,000 miles from London to Australia would take about 19 hours and up to two hours longer on return.

At the moment, passengers making the journey have to fly via the UAE, south-east Asia or other locations in Australia, which takes at least 23 hours.

For the new route, Qantas has ordered 12 Airbus A350 aircraft with 238 seats each, the lowest of any A350 in service. This will allow space for roomier seating and a ‘wellbeing zone’ so passengers can stretch out.

Qantas boss Alan Joyce said: ‘It’s the last frontier and the final fix for the tyranny of distance that has traditionally challenged travel to Australia.’ The airline already flies between London and Perth.

At present, the longest commercial route is from Singapore to New York.