Longest Flights in the World

What Is the Longest Flight in the World?

Singapore Airlines flight SQ24 from Singapore Changi (SIN) to New York JFK is currently the longest scheduled commercial flight, covering 9,537 miles in roughly 18 hours and 45 minutes. The route is flown by the Airbus A350-900ULR, a variant designed specifically for ultra-long range with extra fuel capacity and a reduced seat count of 161 to keep payload manageable.

Singapore Airlines also operates the second-longest route, SIN to Newark (EWR), at the same distance with a slightly shorter scheduled time. Both flights typically fly across the Pacific eastbound and over the polar region westbound, depending on jet stream conditions.

Why Has the Russian Airspace Closure Reshaped This List?

Since early 2022, most western airlines have been blocked from Russian airspace, forcing flights between Asia and Europe or North America onto longer southern or polar routes. This has stretched some routes by an extra 1-2 hours and pushed flights like Finnair's Helsinki to Tokyo from a 9-hour polar hop to a 13-hour southern arc.

Chinese, Indian, and Middle Eastern carriers that retain overflight rights have a structural cost advantage on these routes, which has shifted competitive dynamics across the long-haul market.

The Aircraft That Make Ultra-Long-Haul Possible

Three aircraft dominate the list: the Airbus A350-900ULR, the Boeing 777-200LR, and the Boeing 787-9. Each was engineered around the same fundamental tradeoff — burning enough fuel to fly 9,000+ miles means sacrificing payload, so airlines fit fewer seats and carry less cargo on these flagship routes.

The A380 still appears on a handful of these routes (Emirates DXB-AKL, Qantas DFW-SYD), but its four-engine architecture is less fuel-efficient than modern twins, so most new ultra-long-haul flights launch on the A350 or 787.

Honorable Mentions

These routes don't always make the official top 20 but routinely rank near it depending on seasonal routing, winds, and aircraft assignments.