Air travel has become an almost indispensable part of daily life, ever since the first commercial flight took off from St Petersburg, Florida on January 1, 1914.
Today boarding a plane and jetting off somewhere has become a common place occurrence, that most of us have experienced.
This year as many as 9.4 billion people are expected to take a flight somewhere, as passenger numbers continue to recover after the Covid pandemic.
Airline companies are forecast to operate as many as forty million flights over the course of this year to cater to the growing demand.
The inaugural commercial flight in 1914 lasted just 30 minutes, landing in Tampa some 17 kilometres away. Technological innovation and progress now make it possible to fly thousands of kilometres non-stop to far away destinations.
A list of the world’s top 10 longest flights has been put together by OAG – a global travel data provider.
The long haul flights include destinations in Europe, Asia, North America, and the Middle East.
Three of the longest non-stop flights involve one country, located on the other side of the world from the UK.
Flights from Auckland in New Zealand to Doha, New York and Dubai all feature in the top 10.
All the flights are over 14,000 kilometres (8,699 miles), but under 15,000 km (9,320 miles).
Top of the pops is a flight from New York to Singapore which is a whopping 15,332 km (9,526 miles).
The shortest flight in the top ten is from Houston in Texas to Sydney, which comes in at 13,829 km (8,593 miles).
The full list is as follows:
1. New York JFK to Singapore Changi Airport (15,332 km)
2. Newark Liberty International Airport to Singapore Changi Airport (15,329 km)
3. Auckland International Airport to Doha (14,526 km)
4.London Heathrow Airport to Perth (14,499 km)
5. Melbourne Airport to Dallas Fort Worth Airport (14,468 km)
6. Auckland International Airport to New York JFK (14,209 km)
7. Auckland International Airport to Dubai International (14,193 km)
8. Singapore Changi Airport to Los Angeles International Airport (14,096 km)
9. Bengaluru to San Francisco (13,982 km)
10. Houston George Bush Intercontinental to Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport (13,829 km).
