China sets new record for world’s longest airline flight

China Eastern Airlines has inaugurated the world’s longest commercial passenger flight, cutting more than four hours off existing travel times between China and South America.

A new generation of long-range aircraft — including the Airbus A350, Boeing 787 and advanced variants of the Boeing 777 — is enabling airlines to stretch the limits of nonstop and near-nonstop travel. These ultra-long-haul routes appeal to travellers willing to pay for fewer layovers, reshaping global connectivity patterns.

The New Record Flight

China Eastern flight MU745 departed Shanghai Pudong at 02:19 on Thursday for its maiden service to Buenos Aires’ Ministro Pistarini International Airport (EZE). Operated with a Boeing 777-39P registered B-7882, the flight includes a scheduled technical stop in Auckland for refuelling and crew rotation.

The total journey covers 20,000 kilometres (12,400 miles) and lasts 25 hours and 30 minutes — the longest scheduled commercial passenger service now in operation.

This surpasses the previous record: Xiamen Airlines’ 19-hour-20-minute nonstop service from New York JFK to Fuzhou. Singapore Airlines holds the next two positions with its Newark–Singapore (19:10) and JFK–Singapore (18:55) flights, followed by Air New Zealand’s Auckland–JFK route (17:45).

China’s Global Times notes that earlier Shanghai–South America itineraries, routed via North America or Europe, typically took 30 hours or more.

What China Eastern Says

“This new route, spanning 20,000 kilometres, fills the gap in direct flights between Shanghai and major South American cities,” the airline said. “It opens a ‘southbound corridor’ connecting opposite ends of the Pacific and reshapes air travel between three continents.”

What’s Next

As of publication, flight-tracking data shows the inaugural aircraft landed in Buenos Aires at 16:45 local time, 10 minutes ahead of schedule, following a slightly delayed departure from Auckland.

The race for ultra-long-haul supremacy will continue. Qantas plans to launch Project Sunrise in 2027, flying nonstop from Sydney to London — a 9,500-mile journey of approximately 22 hours — using the Airbus A350-1000ULR.