(COLOMBO, LANKAPUVATH) –The world’s longest commercial flight has left Singapore for New York, beginning a journey scheduled to cover more than 15,000km in almost 19 hours.
Singapore Airlines is relaunching the service five years after it was cut because it had become too expensive.
Flight SQ22 departed at 15:37GMT with 150 passengers and 17 crew.
The inaugural flight from Changi Airport to Newark’s international airport, which services New York, took off amid much fanfare.
However, Singapore Airlines told passengers before take off that their flight to Newark, while still the world’s longest flight by distance, could only take some 17 hours.
Qantas launched a 17-hour non-stop service from Perth to London earlier this year, while Qatar runs a 17.5-hour service between Auckland and Doha.
