When the first nonstop passenger flights between London and Sydney begin early in 2027, the aircraft could fly over the North Pole.
The most direct route on the 10,573-mile link, known as “Project Sunrise,” passes over Russia. The “great circle” journey indicates about four hours’ flying time in Russian airspace between the Latvian and the Kazakh frontiers.
The airspace above the world’s biggest country is currently closed to “Western” aircraft including British Airways, Singapore Airlines and Qantas.
But Vanessa Hudson, chief executive of the Australian airline, told The Independent that being unable to fly over Russia would not pose a problem to the flights.
“Geopolitics is a part of any operational consideration, but these aircraft won't need to fly over Russia to be able to make the distance,” she said.
“The really unique thing about this flight is that at some times of the year, the fastest way to get from Sydney to London will be over Japan and over the North Pole and down the other side because of the wind direction.
“Our pilots are doing lots of flight planning for that flight. They've got over 12 months' worth of wind data and are doing lots of flight-planning simulations.
“Don't just assume that you have to fly west [from Sydney to London] all the time – there will be other routes that we can take.”
The specially designed plane is due for delivery in late 2026 and should enter service “very early in 2027,” Ms Hudson said. Initially it will connect Sydney nonstop with either London Heathrow or New York JFK. No decision has yet been made about which city, but London has always been the flagship route for Qantas.
