Flag carrier to launch longest non-stop flight

ISTANBUL

THY’s planned Sydney-Istanbul flight will be the longest in the world.

Turkish Airlines (THY) has plans to operate the world’s longest non-stop flight, from Istanbul to Sydney in the coming years, the airlines’ chief executive Temel Kotil said in a recent interview with Air Transport World.

Kotil noted that THY would launch its first flight to Sydney in 2014, but the first flights will include a stopover in Asia. “Within three years the flight will become non-stop when the carrier gets the 777-300ER and 777-200LR planes which will be capable of flying the super long-haul routes,” he added.

Istanbul is the eastern-most point of the European continent, and it is 8076 nautical miles (14,956 kilometers) away from Sydney. Currently, Singapore Airlines holds the crown of the operator of the world’s longest flight, on the Singapore to New York Newark Airport route, at 15,544 kilometers. But, this route is scheduled to be discontinued later this year, as Air Transport World reported.