Qantas’s Project Sunrise, the airline’s ambitious plan to introduce the world’s longest flights, has been delayed by a year.
Qantas announced the delay in its recent financial results, which stated that the new Airbus A350-1000s would be delivered by mid-2026 instead of 2025. The airline has not confirmed whether or not this will affect the expected date for the inaugural flight, which is set to take off in mid-2026.
Airbus told reuters.com that the reason for the delay was because the regulators had asked for the centre fuel tank to be redesigned. Airbus is working with the European Union Aviation Safety Agency to meet the required level of safety for the aircraft.
Project Sunrise aims to fly direct between Sydney and London as well as Sydney and New York. The first 12 aircraft were ordered from Airbus in 2022.
