The longest flights by plane. The longest flight in the world: numbers and facts. Advantages and disadvantages of nonstop flights

Every day, hundreds of flights take place around the world, carrying tens of thousands of passengers. Air travel take much less time than traveling by car or train. For example, it will take at least two weeks to cover the distance of the longest flight in the world by car.

The longest non-stop flight on the route Newark - Singapore is regularly performed by Singapore Airlines. Depending on the weather conditions, the flight can take from 18 hours 40 minutes to 19 hours exactly. The Singaporean carrier first flew in 2004, and for more than 9 years passengers have been able to a short time

cross a distance of 15,345 km, which is almost equal to the length of the Eurasian continent from west to east.

The second longest non-stop flight is the Los Angeles - Singapore route. In just over 17 hours, the airbus covers 14 thousand celestial kilometers.


Regularly, 313 passengers (that's how many people can fit on board the plane) depart from the city of angels to get to the capital of ancient Chinese architecture, the city of butterflies and reptiles, 17 hours later.

In third place is the Boeing 777-200LR airliner flying from Johannesburg to Atlanta. For 16 hours and 35 minutes, the plane carries its passengers through the clouds covering the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. The first such flight took place in 2009: everything went well, and the flight has since become regular. All travelers who are lucky enough to take this flight note the magnificent view of Johannesburg that opens up immediately after takeoff.

In 1976, airlines managed to set a new record for the longest non-stop routes. The distance from New York to Tokyo (this is exactly what the Boeing 747 followed) was (and still is) almost 11 thousand kilometers. At the end of the same year, the famous Boeing began flying between Sydney and San Francisco, regularly covering almost 12 thousand kilometers.


Embrace the vast expanses of our country

The longest flight in Russia is a non-stop flight from Moscow to Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. The distance between these cities is 7 and a half thousand kilometers, modern aviation overcomes it in 8 hours.

The first flight on this route was made back in 1938. Pilots V.K. Kokkinaki and A.M. Bryandinsky spent more than a day in the sky to get to their destination. During this flight, the pilots managed to set a speed record in a small two-seater plane, and at the same time the whole world learned about the new shortest route from the Soviet capital to the shores Pacific Ocean. Both pilots, as a result, received the well-deserved titles of Heroes of the Soviet Union.

Not everyone can be a giant...

If during the longest flight passengers have to spend 17 hours in the sky, then the shortest flight takes only 4 minutes, two of which the car spends on starting the engine, taking off and braking.

The plane's route runs between two small Scottish islands, and the distance between them is only a few tens of meters longer than the length of the runway. It is worth noting that only three people work at the airport where the plane lands, and the entire population of the island is 70 people.

The ticket price includes compensation for the release of burnt fuel into the atmosphere. Upon landing, all passengers on this “mini” flight receive a document with a personal signature from the captain of the aircraft stating that they have made a contribution to the environmental fund.

There are other small flights in the world. For example, a Polynesian airline takes a plane into the sky for only five minutes, and a flight between the cities of Burlington and Rochester in America takes seven minutes.

This is why some people prefer to fly exclusively non-stop flights. It's both faster and more convenient. That's why airlines never stop offering long-haul flights. non-stop flights. The longest flights in the world are often in good demand among passengers.

By it is meant commercial flight, during which no intermediate transfers are planned. It must meet the following criteria:

  • the total distance between the point of arrival and departure must be at least 12,000 km;
  • the entire flight time - from 15 hours.

Basically, such long-distance routes are laid in a great circle And over the polar regions, since this is the shortest distance between two points on Earth.

Map of direct flights in the world.

In total, almost all of the world's longest non-stop plane flights are from Southeast Asia to cities in North America.

Advantages and disadvantages of nonstop flights

The advantage of this flight is that You won’t have to wait in line to check in at your transfer airport. You sit down calmly at the starting point of the route and spend the entire flight in your seat.

The disadvantages are that, as a rule, passengers simply don’t know what to do with themselves during the flight. Spending 15 hours or more in a chair is very difficult.

Therefore, on such routes they try to provide various entertainment for passengers as much as possible.

To prevent your legs from becoming numb, be sure to get up and walk along the aisle to stretch your legs a little.

Longest flights by plane

Below are 10 longest routes offered by different airlines.

The first place here comes flight between Doha in Qatar and Auckland carried out Qatar Airways. The total distance covered is 14,535 km.

Passengers on this flight spend time in the air about 17 hours 40 minutes. The flight takes place by plane Boeing 777-200LR. The first flight was carried out February 6, 2017.

Boeing 777-200LR.

Second place belongs to Emirates flight on Airbus A380-800. This flight is Auckland total length at 14,202 km. It will take time 17 hours 15 minutes. This is the first time a plane has taken such a route. in March 2016.

Flight Sydney - Dallas, offered by the national carrier Qantas Airways, is in third place. Travel time - 15 hours 35 minutes, and the covered distance is 13,804 km.

Airbus A380-800.

The flight takes place on the same Airbus. By the way, it's two stories high, so you can stretch your legs during the flight by walking to the self-service bar. For the first time, the flight was carried out September 29, 2014.

The fourth place is taken flight Singapore - San Francisco. This is Singapore Airlines, which operates such a route at a distance of at 13,588 km. The Airbus A350-900 aircraft will have to be about 16 and a half hours.

Airbus A350-900.

Comes to fifth place flight Johannesburg - Atlanta Delta Air Lines, on a Boeing 777-200LR. The plane covers the route at 13,582 km. It comes out in time 16 hours 15 minutes. The first flight has already passed June 2, 2009.

On the sixth - flight Dubai - Los Angeles, which Emirates has, on the same Boeing. The distance he travels is 13,420 km. On board the aircraft you will have to spend 16 hours 35 minutes. October 26, 2008— start date of flights on this route.

The seventh longest was flight from Los Angeles to Bangkok. Thai Airways International offers this route. Distance at 13,309 km Airbus A340-500 aircraft passes in 17 and a half hours. It began to be implemented December 2, 2005.

Airbus A340-500.

Eighth place was again taken by Emirates with their flight Dubai - Houston. On the Boeing 777-200LR passengers travel 13,144 km in 16 hours 20 minutes. For the first time, he passed December 3, 2007.

The ninth place is rightfully occupied flight Washington - Johannesburg, from South African Airways. The route will be 13,084 km, and in time - 15 hours 10 minutes. Airbus A340-300 takes off for the first time May 1, 2009 to go on this flight.

On the same day it was held for the first time flight Dubai - San Francisco Emirates company. Boeing 777-200LR completed the route 13,041 km in 16 hours. He's at the bottom of our list.

As you can see, the most long flights on an airplane in the world are offered by commercial professionals civil aviation, which means you don’t need to worry about your comfort during such flights.

In early February, Qatar Airways flew the world's longest commercial flight from Doha (Qatar) to Auckland ( New Zealand). Especially for readers, experts from the travel service OneTwoTrip revealed the details of the flight and talked about the longest existing air routes.

Doha - Auckland, 14.5 thousand kilometers

Who performs: Qatar Airways
Flight number: QR 920, launched February 2017
Flight time: 16 hours 23 minutes (return flight - more than 18 hours)
Aircraft: Boeing 777

The last launched "most long flight" takes passengers almost 16 and a half hours. During this time, the airliner flies 14,535 kilometers.

IN Boeing cabin 777 - 217 economy class seats and 42 business class seats. Departure from Doha airport at 5:10 local time.

The crew includes 4 pilots and 15 flight attendants. During the flight, passengers drink more than a thousand servings of tea and coffee, two thousand servings of soft drinks and eat a thousand servings of in-flight meals.

Due to headwinds, the return flight lasts almost two hours longer: passengers spend more than 18 hours in the air.

Dubai - Auckland, 14.2 thousand kilometers

Who operates: Flight number: EK 449, launched March 2016
Flight time: 17 hours 25 minutes
Aircraft: Airbus A380

More than 17 hours of flight is not an easy test for passengers, but such a flight helps save an average of three hours of travel time. In addition, passengers fly in comfort: the Airbus A380 is designed specifically for ultra-long-distance flights.

From Dubai to Auckland, the flight departs at 10:05 am and arrives in Auckland at 11:00 am the next day local time. If you want to get to Auckland from Moscow, flight EK 448 has a convenient connection in Dubai lasting three to four hours, so the entire journey to New Zealand will take an average of 25 hours. True, this pleasure is not cheap: in February 2017, a ticket for a flight Moscow - Auckland with a transfer in Dubai costs just under 100 thousand rubles. The minimum price for the same route is 71 thousand rubles, but you will have to spend seven hours more on the way.

Dallas - Sydney, 13.8 thousand kilometers

Who performs: Qantas
Flight number: QF 8, launched September 2014
Flight time: 16 hours 55 minutes (16 hours 50 minutes according to winter schedule)
Aircraft: Airbus A380-800

This is the only one non-stop flight between Australia and east coast USA. Planes fly six times a week: every day except Tuesday. There are four classes of seating on board: 14 private cabins in first class, 64 seats in business class, 35 seats in premium economy class and 371 seats in economy class.

The first A380 that operated this flight had a special livery: a kangaroo (the airline's traditional symbol) on the tail of the plane was depicted with a cowboy hat and a stars-and-stripes bandana around its neck. Today, this aircraft has unfortunately been replaced by an aircraft in the standard Qantas livery.

San Francisco - Singapore, 13.6 thousand kilometers

Who operates: United Airlines, Singapore Airlines
Flight number: UA I, launched June 2016 / SQ 31, launched October 2016
Flight time: 16 hours 30 minutes (17 hours 15 minutes according to winter schedule)
Aircraft: Boeing 787-9 / Airbus A350-900

Passengers flying from San Francisco to Singapore are involved in an interesting game of time due to time zones. On the way from the USA to Asia, they unnoticed by themselves lose almost two days: they fly out at 22:55 from the USA, and land at Changi Airport at 6:15 am local time, but two hours later. But the return journey on flight UA II takes only 30 minutes by the hour: departure from Singapore at 8:45 and landing in the States at 9:15 (and, of course, 16 hours in flight).

Photo: Stephen Brashear/Getty Images

Johannesburg - Atlanta, 13.6 thousand kilometers

Who flies: Flight number: DL 201, launched June 2009
Flight time: 16 hours 50 minutes (16 hours 55 minutes according to winter schedule)
Aircraft: Boeing 777-200LR

The flight from Johannesburg to Atlanta is operated by four pilots and two separate teams of flight attendants, who rotate during the flight. For a 17-hour flight, the aircraft requires more than 150 thousand liters of fuel.

The airline released interesting statistics about this flight: during the year of flights, passengers on this flight drink about 70 thousand cans of soda, eat 100 thousand packages of crackers, 200 thousand bags of peanuts, and more than 225 thousand kilograms of ice are used for drinks.

Abu Dhabi - Los Angeles, 13.5 thousand kilometers

Who performs: Etihad Airways
Flight number: EY 171, launched June 2014
Flight time: 16 hours 30 minutes
Aircraft: Boeing 777-200LR

The Airbus A340-500, which accommodated 240 passengers (12 in first class, 28 in business and 200 in economy), first flew from the city of angels to the capital of the UAE, but in July 2014 Etihad replaced it with a Boeing 777-200LR. Now there are fewer seats in economy class - only 189, but the business class cabin has increased to 40 seats.

Literally from the first moments after the birth of aviation, a race began that continues to this day for victory in speed, duration, range, flight altitude and carrying capacity. Among the first world record holders for the longest air travel was the famous Louis Blériot, who made a record flight across... the English Channel on July 25, 1909.

First records and record holders

There are dozens of names on this list. Among them is the legendary American Charles Lindbergh, who crossed the Atlantic for the first time in May 1927 and Soviet pilot Mikhail Gromov, who together with his crew made a non-stop flight from Moscow to San Jacinto (California) on an ANT-25 aircraft. It took place in November 1937. The range record then was almost 10,150 km.

The spirit of aerial competition has not faded into the 21st century. Today, world records in aviation are more of a routine thing, which, as a rule, is carried out by the world's leading air carriers. True, it is worth noting that the actual production of “record holders” - long-haul passenger aircraft, is exclusively the destiny of a few leading industrial powers possessing modern technologies.

Flying Marathon Club

Its undoubted leader is the Boeing company with its famous 747. Over the years of operation, since February 1969, 1,527 vehicles were produced in four modifications. The maximum flight range belongs to the Boeing 747-8 - more than 14,800 km.

The Boeing 787 Dreamliner is rightfully considered its “direct successor”. It began making regular commercial flights 6 years ago. During this time, the company sold 565 aircraft in three versions – 8, 9, 10. The longest “jump” was made by the Boeing 787-9 – 14,140 km.


The main competitor of the “American” is the European concern Airbus, a joint brainchild of France, Spain, Great Britain and Germany. In April 2005, serial production of the largest passenger airliner, the Airbus 380, began, capable of carrying (depending on the version) from 525 to 853 passengers over a range of over 15,000 km. Over 12 years, the company produced 213 cars.


Russia's participation in this prestigious club looks more than modest. The country is represented in the singular by IL-96. Since the start of operation in 1993, the Voronezh Aviation Plant has produced only 30 aircraft in three versions - 96-300, 96M/T and 96/400. The Russian range record belongs to the Il-96/400 - 12,800 km.

Who is further and longer

The main ultra-long-distance routes of civil air lines connect Southeast Asia And North America. On average, their length is over 12 thousand km, and the travel time exceeds 15 hours.


Today, the longest airplane flights in the world take place during regular commercial flights. Thus, on February 6 of this year, a Qatar Airways Boeing 777-200LR covered a distance of 14,535 km along the Doha-Auckland route in 17 hours and 40 minutes.

But this is not the limit. Singapore Airlines is ready to offer a truly record-breaking flight from New York to Singapore on an Airbus A340. Its length will be 15.5 thousand km, which may take about 20 hours. In this case, passengers and crew will become participants in several world records at once. This will be the longest non-stop passenger flight without refueling.


The largest Russian air carriers are not among the world record holders for flight range. Today, the longest flight from Moscow is on the Moscow-Los Angeles route (Aeroflot company). Its length is 10,100 km, and the travel time is more than 12 hours.


The transport sector also has its own records and achievements, as well as its own Kunstkamera - unusual routes and flights. In this review we will tell you about the 10 most remarkable flights in the world operated on different types transport: air, land, water, etc.

The shortest scheduled passenger flight

The world's shortest regular passenger flight is a flight between Westray and Papa Westray airports in the Orkney Islands in Scotland. This route connects two small nearby inhabited patches of land in the North Sea. At the same time, the duration of the flight in the air is only 47 seconds, and the flight as a whole, including taxiing, takeoff and landing, is 2 minutes.



Westray and Papa Westray airports are within easy sight of each other, just 2.6 kilometers apart. Regular flights between them are operated by the Scottish company Longair, and the cost of a round trip flight is £17.



Interestingly, the population of Papa Westray Island is only 70 people. However, flying to it is consistently popular - the island thanks a huge number Historical and archaeological sights are favored by tourists.

Shortest international passenger flight

The distance between the cities of Vienna and Bratislava is only 60 kilometers; you can get from one locality to another by car, bus or train in less than an hour. However, from April 2015, flyniki plans to launch regular flights between the capital of Austria and Slovakia.



Airplanes flying between Vienna and Bratislava will be in the air for just 10 minutes, making it the shortest international passenger flight in the world.



Many observers have great doubts about the feasibility of this flight, because it is possible to get between these cities by land faster than by air, given the need to travel to and from the airport, go through security and wait for landing. Apparently, the flyniki airline is thus going to attract Bratislava passengers to fly from Vienna, for whom this flight will become an intermediate flight.

Longest nonstop passenger flight

In turn, the longest regular passenger flight is the flight between the cities of Singapore and Newark (USA), carried out by by Singapore Airlines Airlines. The Airbus A340 aircraft covers a flight of 15,345 kilometers in 18 hours 40 minutes in one direction and 18 hours 50 minutes in the other.



Interestingly, the distance of 15,345 kilometers is approximately equal to the length of the Eurasian continent from the westernmost point to the easternmost.



Considering the duration of the flight, Airbus airliner The A340, which flies between Singapore and Newark, is equipped exclusively with business class seats, allowing passengers to rest and sleep well during the long journey.

The world's longest railway route

Until 2010, the world's longest passenger by rail the Kharkov-Vladivostok train was considered. This train, launched back in 1957, covered the distance between the end points in 7 days, 7 hours and 34 minutes, covering 9,714 kilometers. Moreover, separate cars from Kyiv, Donetsk and Dnepropetrovsk were also connected to it, which further increased the travel distance.

But in 2010, this train was canceled due to the low number of direct passengers. The new record holder was the train traveling along the Moscow-Vladivostok route. This train covers 9259 kilometers in 7 days and 10 hours.

Longest freight rail route

Where direct passenger rail transportation over long distances may not be in demand, there is often a place for freight trains. The most clear evidence of this appeared in December 2014, when a new record-breaking train appeared on the world map. We are talking about a cargo train that started on November 18 in Chinese city Yiwu and finished twenty-one days later in Madrid, covering a distance of 13 thousand kilometers and eight countries along the way: China, Kazakhstan, Russia, Belarus, Poland, Germany, France and, in fact, Spain.



A freight train brought more than a billion dollars worth of Chinese goods to the Spanish capital. In order not to go back empty, the train carried Spanish wines, butter, jamon and other products to China.



The Yiwu-Madrid train will operate on a regular basis in the future. This record-breaking and important route has already been given the nickname “New Silk Road” or “Silk Road of the 21st century”. The possibility of converting this cargo flight into a passenger flight is also being studied.

The smallest metro in the world

The city of Catania is interesting not only because it is the administrative center of the island of Sicily. In that locality there is also a unique transport system– the shortest metro line in the world.



The Catania metro was put into operation in 1999. The first and only line since then consists of 6 stations, and its length is only 3.6 kilometers. The construction of the next stage of the metro is hampered by a lack of funding - Catania, like the whole of Sicily, is one of the poorest regions of Italy.



In the existing one this moment The metro line isn't much use. A little more than 11 thousand passengers use this type of public transport per day, despite the fact that the population of Catania is 315 thousand people.

Street elevator to another area

We are accustomed to the fact that elevators serve as a means of transportation inside multi-story buildings. But there are regions where these structures are quite popular urban vehicle. Most often this happens in cities with difficult terrain, for example, in Lisbon. But the most unusual and beautiful street elevator appeared in 2013 in Pamplona, ​​the capital of the Spanish province of Navarra.



This street elevator connects two urban areas separated by a steep slope with a height difference of thirty meters. Previously, residents there had to take a detour, but now communication between neighboring streets has become much easier, at least for pedestrians and cyclists.



After all, where just a couple of years ago you had to spend half an hour walking around, now you can go down or up in just a few seconds on a street elevator.

The cable car as the main form of urban transport

Georgia is also a country with a rather complex mountainous terrain. However, it does not boast amazing street elevators, but the ubiquity of cable cars, which are found in many large and small cities of this state. But the small village of Chiatura stands out especially against the general background, where such vehicles are the main form of urban transport.



Chiatura is a mining town sandwiched between several mountain peaks. At the same time, the city center is located at the bottom of the gorge, and the main residential areas are scattered along the neighboring slopes and mountains. Due to the terrain features of this locality, passenger road transport is poorly developed, and therefore the main type public transport There are cable cars in Chiatura.



Today, there are 10 lines in the city cable car, and previously there were even more - 17. At the same time, most sites use incredibly outdated equipment, which has been in continuous use since the fifties of the twentieth century. There is a legend that it was the absurdly shaped metal trailers from Chiatura that became the prototype for the famous Pepelats in the film “Kin-Dza-Dza” by Georgian Georgy Danelia.

The busiest ferry service in the world

New York also cannot boast of ideal terrain. However, in this metropolis, the obstacle to moving from one point of the city to another is not the mountains, but bodies of water - the Hudson River and others. Therefore, one of the most important forms of urban transport in New York is ferries.



Moreover, for the Staten Island area, the ferry is generally the only possible means of transport to get to the rest of New York - there are no bridges or tunnels leading to this island.



Therefore, it is not surprising that the Staten Island Ferry is considered the busiest ferry crossing in the world. It operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. This line carries an average of 75 thousand passengers per day, which gives a record 27 million people per year.

The smallest tram line

In 1989, in the Crimean village of Molochnoye near Yevpatoria, a tram line was opened, which is the shortest in the world. The length of the entire route is only one and a half kilometers; it connects the Beregovoy boarding house with the seaside beach.



However, this tram can be used not only by holidaymakers vacationing in Beregovoe, but also by everyone, which makes this tram system a full-fledged form of public transport. True, this tram is operated only in the summer, during the tourist season.


 

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