Qantas is preparing to operate one of its longest flights, on the route Buenos Aires - Darwin!

Qantas is to operate one of the longest flights - a non-stop journey of 14.683 km, from Buenos Aires to Darwin, by a shortcut to the South Pole. The flight, which will take off from the Argentine capital on Tuesday, October 5, will be the most recent of a series of special repatriation flights of Australian citizens stranded abroad.

It will be a long flight - even longer than the pilot route operated by Qantas from Perth directly to London - that could reach Darwin on its way to London, at least in the short term, if Western Australia keeps its borders closed.

The marathon route between Perth and London is the airline's longest commercial service, with the Boeing 787-9 flying about 14.498 km. The flight to Buenos Aires is only 185 km longer and will also be operated by one of the airline's Dreamliner aircraft.

In the last 18 months, Qantas has undertaken a series of charter, repatriation flights, bringing home Australians from London, Delhi, Istanbul and Frankfurt.

The repatriation flight Buenos Aires - Darwin al Qantas is expected to fly for almost 18 hours - the same period of time as the non-stop flights of Project Sunrise, between Sydney and London. The project is put on standby, at least for the time being, due to restrictions caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

If Project Sunrise goes further, passengers traveling between Sydney and London aboard Airbus A350-1000 aircraft can expect to enjoy luxury First Class apartments, new and extra comfortable seats in Business Class, a new approach Premium Economy Class and even Economy Class, plus areas where passengers can stand and walk.

Qantas intends to resume international flights, starting December 18, 2021, with daily flights to Singapore, London and Los Angeles.