Emirates To Claim Title Of World’s Longest Flight – Fly 17 Hours Non-Stop From Dubai To Panama

Emirates will soon operate the world’s longest flight. It will ferry passengers in a commercial jetliner from Dubai to Panama without a halt in 17.5 hours.

Backed by the government of Dubai, Emirates airways will soon whisk away the title of operating the world’s longest flight by regularly taking passengers from Dubai in the Middle East to Panama in Central America. The duration of the flight is expected to be 17 hours 35 minutes.

The title of the longest flight duration is currently claimed by Qantas Airways. Australia’s Qantas currently operates a flight from Dallas to Sydney which takes just under 17 hours, reported Fox News. Interestingly, Singapore Airlines, the state carrier of Singapore, boasted of even longer duration flights, connecting the city-state to Newark, but chose to end the service in 2013, citing cost inefficiency among other reasons.

Emirates airways will deploy a Boeing 777-200LR aircraft on the route and is expected to launch the inaugural flight on Feb 1. Besides bagging the title of running world’s longest flight, Emirates will also offer its first ever destination in Central America. According to Bloomberg News, The flight will cover a distance of 8,590 miles. Interestingly, it will beat Qantas’ flight distance by a mere 10 miles. Despite the short duration gap, Qantas takes slightly less than 17 hours, while Emirates will require 17 hours and 35 minutes. Speaking about the new milestone for Emirates, its CEO Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum said,

“Panama City will be our first destination gateway in Central America, providing a convenient option for our passengers travelling from or through our global hub in Dubai and onward to destinations throughout Central America, the Caribbean and the northern part of South America. We’re also pleased to be the only commercial airline to offer a daily, first class service to travellers on what will be the world’s longest non-stop flight.”

Operating a non-stop long duration flight has its own unique challenges. Besides filling up the jetliner to capacity, the fuel for the entire duration of the light has to be filled at once, which makes the plane bulky. Moreover, the stop-over allows passengers to get off after the first leg and the airlines can pick up passengers to fill the vacant seats for the second leg of the flight. But a non-stop flight doesn’t have this privilege.

Incidentally, Emirates has been rapidly expanding its network and efficiency by skillfully routing international transit passengers and cargo through its hub in the Gulf commercial center, reported USA Today. With the non-stop world’s longest flight, it is merely adding another feather to its cap.

[Image Credit | Arwan Naamani / Getty Images]