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Airbus Completes 24‑Hour A350‑1000ULR Test Flight From Melbourne to Toulouse

The nonstop return flight validates the aircraft’s added rear‑centre fuel tank and moves Qantas’ Project Sunrise closer to certification and delivery next year.

A Qantas A350-1000ULR aircraft arrives at the Melbourne Airport in Melbourne, Australia, on July 24, 2026, after a 19-hour-and-13-minute delivery flight from the Airbus factory in Toulouse, France.
Plane spotters watch as a Qantas Airbus A350-1000ULR aircraft, part of the airline’s Project Sunrise fleet, arrives at the Melbourne Airport in Melbourne, Australia, on July 24, 2026. 
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Overview

  • Airbus flew the test A350‑1000ULR from Melbourne back to Toulouse in a single nonstop leg that departed on Monday and landed early Tuesday after about 24 hours in the air.
  • The flight used a bespoke rear‑centre fuel tank holding roughly 20,000 litres to extend range by about 1,000 nautical miles versus a standard A350‑1000.
  • Airbus test crews and Qantas pilots operated the jet while engineers recorded data from more than 1,000 sensors to assess fuel transfer, systems performance and crew rest arrangements.
  • Flight‑tracking services drew millions of followers and reported the 12,460‑nautical‑mile routing as a new distance benchmark, but formal record adjudication and regulatory certification remain under review.
  • The test advances the programme toward first customer delivery in April 2027 and commercial Project Sunrise services planned for late 2027 on low‑density, wellbeing‑focused cabins that aim to reduce fatigue on 20+ hour sectors.