The Australian airline Qantas will not be able to operate the ultra-long-haul flights planned as part of the “Sunrise” project until mid-2026. The reason for the delay is that the required Airbus A350-1000 aircraft will only be delivered later.

Some time ago Qantas announced that it wanted to use this type of aircraft to operate non-stop flights between Australia and the United Kingdom. Since the range of the standard version is not sufficient, Airbus ordered a special version with an additional tank.

However, not everything goes according to plan during certification, as the responsible regulatory authorities require that design changes be made to the center tank area. This means that Qantas can take delivery of the Airbus A350-1000 that was ordered and required for the project much later than expected.

The Australian Oneworld member originally assumed that the 19-hour flights could begin at the end of 2025. The project was launched in 2017 and provides ultra-long-haul flights from Sydney and Melbourne to New York and London. The coronavirus pandemic has resulted in some delays. Now Qantas has had to admit that the planned London non-stop flights cannot be operated until mid-2026 at the earliest.