On October 20, Qantas, Australian carrier made history after completing the world's longest flight from New York to Sydney. Qantas Flight #QF7879 completed the test-run of a 19-hour non-stop passenger flight. A significant achievement in the field of aviation, the longest commercial aeroplane journey was part of a research to study the effect of long flights on pilots, crew and passengers. That's not all, Qantas has two more long-duration flights from London to Sydney in November and another New York to Sydney in December. Before those take off, we look at some of the previous longest flights in the world, in terms of duration.

The Qantas' Boeing Dreamliner was designed in a way to test the endurance of all members on the extremely long flight journeys. It took off with barely 50 passengers to make sure it flew light enough in the tank of fuel. The passengers' luggage was also restricted and all of them were in business class. While the current world's longest regular commercial flight is from Singapore to Newark, started by Singapore Airlines in 2018, here's a look at the top 10 longest flights in the world as of 2019.

  1. Singapore Airlines: Singapore to Newark (18 hours, 30 minutes) Airbus A350-900ULR.

  2. Qatar Airways: Auckland to Doha (17 hours 50 minutes) Boeing 777-200LR

  3. Qantas: Perth to London (17 hours 25 minutes) Boeing 787-9

  4. Emirates: Dubai to Auckland (17 hours 10 minutes) Airbus A380

  5. Singapore Airlines: Singapore to Los Angeles (17 hours 50 minutes) Airbus A350-900/A350-900ULR While the time takes is same as Auckland to Doha flight, the distance covered is lesser than the above-mentioned flights.

  6. United: Houston to Sydney (17 hours 30 minutes) Boeing 787-9

  7. Qantas: Dallas to Sydney (17 hours 10 minutes)  Airbus A380

  8. Philippine Airlines: Manila to New York JFK (16 hours, 35 minutes) Airbus A350

  9. United: San Francisco to Singapore (17 hours 10 minutes) Boeing 787-9

  10. Delta: Johannesburg to Atlanta (16 hours, 50 minutes) Boeing 777-200LR

All of these flights cover a distance of more than 8000 miles (12,800 km). We haven't mentioned the actual timings as they may differ. But one of the factors that affect flight duration is the wind in the atmosphere. The change of season affects the atmosphere. So these factors vary and play a role in the flight duration.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Oct 21, 2019 11:30 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).