Qantas will start flying ghost flights from New York and London to Sydney. The flights are not available to the public. They will be carrying just a few staff to see how the human body holds up before commercial services start. The airline said it will simulate the world’s longest direct flights with Boeing Dreamliners as soon as October.
These flights will have about 40 passengers, mostly crew and employees. After the flights they will undergo a host of medical checks and assessments to see how a flight that lasts almost a whole day affects passengers.
Qantas is looking to launch direct flights to Sydney from New York and London as soon as 2022. But the 20 hour flights are not yet guaranteed. If the routes are given a final go, the airlines will choose either Boeing’s 777-8X or Airbus’s ultra-long-range A350-900ULR and -1000ULR for the flights.Â
