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World's longest domestic flight

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The flight path between Papeete and Paris

Air Tahiti Nui Flight 64 (TN64/THT64) was the world's longest domestic flight ever. It was created due to restrictions imposed by the United States over international flights in a context of COVID-19 pandemic. The flight, operated by Air Tahiti Nui, was between Papeete in French Polynesia and Paris in metropolitan France, traversing a distance of 15,715 kilometres (9,765 mi; 8,485 nmi) and taking 16 hours, 20 minutes.[1] It is considered a domestic flight as French Polynesia forms an integral part of the French Republic.

Historical records

Longest domestic flight

"Tetiaroa" (registered F-OTOA), a Boeing 787-9, one of the planes that operated Air Tahiti Nui's longest domestic flights.

The world's longest commercial domestic flight was flight TN64 operated by Air Tahiti Nui, a French airline based in French Polynesia. The flight operated between Tahiti's Faa'a International Airport near Papeete to Charles de Gaulle Airport near Paris, France. It covered a great-circle distance of 15,715 kilometres (9,765 mi; 8,485 nmi) taking approximately 16 hours and 20 minutes. With its great-circle distance, it set the record both for world's longest domestic flight as well as the world's longest commercial flight.

Air Tahiti Nui began the route on 15 March 2020, departing Faa'a International Airport at 3:14 am local time as flight TN64, flying nonstop to Charles de Gaulle Airport and landing at 6:00 am local time on 16 March, taking 15 hours and 46 minutes.[2] The Boeing 787-9 operating the flight (registered F-OTOA)[3] was only partially filled with passengers.[4][5] TN64 continued to operate the flight through March and April 2020, with its final flight on 19 April 2020.[6][1]

Prior to this record, the record, at the time, for the longest commercial flight by great-circle distance was held by Singapore Airlines, with their Singapore to Newark route at a distance of 15,343 kilometres (9,534 mi; 8,285 nmi).[7]

Longest domestic flight (cargo only)

French Bee operated the longest nonstop domestic cargo flight, from Tahiti to Paris on 14 May 2020, departing Faa'a International Airport at 10:51 am local time and landing at Orly Airport at 3:40 pm local time on 15 May 2020, taking 16 hours and 49 minutes.[8] This flight did not carry passengers in part as Orly Airport was closed to all commercial passenger traffic from March to June 2020.[9] The airline further claimed its Airbus A350-900 operating the flight (registered F-HREY) flew a ground distance of 16,129 kilometres (10,022 mi; 8,709 nmi), thus surpassing the distance of Air Tahiti Nui's flight, but was not operated as a commercial passenger flight and no tickets were sold, instead carrying approximately 5 tons of cargo.[10][11][12]

Background

The non-stop routes flown by certain airlines were developed as consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent restrictions imposed by the United States over international flights which came into effect on 11 March 2020.[13][14] Before the pandemic, the flight between Papeete and Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris was operated by Air Tahiti Nui as well as Air France with an intermediate stop at Los Angeles International Airport, while the flight between Papeete and Orly Airport in Paris was operated by French Bee with an intermediate stop at San Francisco International Airport.[15][16] The airlines serving these routes also held traffic rights to transport passengers between either Paris or Papeete and the intermediate stop. Both the Boeing 787-9 used by Air Tahiti Nui and the Airbus A350-900 used by French Bee were claimed by their respective airlines to have greater fuel and energy efficiency compared to other similar or older long-haul widebody aircraft, while flying with a smaller payload to be able to achieve the long distance without stopping for additional fuel.[10][17]

Air Tahiti Nui, French Bee and Air France have all pursued other stopping points to cover the long distance between French Polynesia and metropolitan France, including stopping at Pointe-à-Pitre International Airport in the French overseas territory of Guadeloupe,[18] as well as stopping at Vancouver International Airport in the Canadian province of British Columbia.[19] However, unlike the intermediate stops in the United States prior to the pandemic, the stop in Vancouver was solely for transit, as none of the airlines could discharge or take on additional passengers at the intermediate stop.[20][21]

Current record

Longest domestic flight (active)

Originally launched in 1994, the longest currently active domestic flight is between Saint-Denis, Réunion, France and Paris, France (via Charles de Gaulle Airport) and covers 9,349 kilometres (5,809 mi; 5,048 nmi) in 11 hours 40 minutes. It is operated today by two carriers, Air France and Air Austral.[22] Previously operated by Air France as a direct flight with refueling stops, it changed to a non-stop flight following the completion of the new longer runway at Saint-Denis that could accommodate Air France's fully loaded 747s in November 1994.[23] Today it is operated using Boeing 777 and 787s, capable of covering the 11 hour domestic flight with ease. While much shorter than the longest domestic flight ever, it remains the longest operating today, beating the second longest domestic flight from Paris' Orly Airport to Saint-Denis, Réunion by just 12 kilometres.[24]

Map showing the 25 longest active domestic flights (as of 1 Jan 2022). Colored by country: France (light blue), Netherlands (orange), USA (blue), Russia (red)

Longest domestic flights (top 25, by great circle distance)

Rank From To Flight Distance Scheduled

duration

Aircraft
1 Frankreich Saint Denis, Reunion Frankreich Paris-CDG Air France AF 647
Air Austral UU 971/975 		9,349 km (5,809 mi; 5,048 nmi) 11:40 777-200
777-300ER
787-8
2 Frankreich Paris-Orly Air France AF 645/671
Corsair SS 773
French Bee BF 701/703/705 		9,337 km (5,802 mi; 5,042 nmi) 12:05 A330-900
A350-900
777-200
777-300ER
3 Frankreich Marseille Corsair SS 633 8,781 km (5,456 mi; 4,741 nmi) 11:20 A330-900
4 Vereinigte Staaten Boston Vereinigte Staaten Honolulu Hawaiian Airlines HA 89 8,199 km (5,095 mi; 4,427 nmi) 11:35 A330-200
5 Vereinigte Staaten New York-JFK Hawaiian Airlines HA 51 8,020 km (4,980 mi; 4,330 nmi) 11:25 A330-200
6 Vereinigte Staaten Newark United Airlines UA 363 7,986 km (4,962 mi; 4,312 nmi) 10:58 767-300
7 Vereinigte Staaten Kahului United Airlines UA 42 7,891 km (4,903 mi; 4,261 nmi) 10:55 767-300
8 Niederlande Aruba Niederlande Amsterdam KLM KL 771
Tuifly Netherlands OR 364 		7,883 km (4,898 mi; 4,256 nmi) 10:15 777-200
787-8
9 Niederlande Curaçao KLM KL 734
Tuifly Netherlands OR 358 		7,838 km (4,870 mi; 4,232 nmi) 10:15 A330-200
777-200
777-300ER
787-8
787-10
10 Niederlande Bonaire KLM KL 765
Tuifly Netherlands OR 366 		7,796 km (4,844 mi; 4,210 nmi) 10:10 777-200
787-8
11 Vereinigte Staaten Washington D.C. -Dulles Vereinigte Staaten Honolulu United Airlines UA 345 7,752 km (4,817 mi; 4,186 nmi) 10:46 767-300
12 Vereinigte Staaten Orlando Hawaiian Airlines HA 85 7,655 km (4,757 mi; 4,133 nmi) 10:50 A330-200
13 Vereinigte Staaten Atlanta Delta Air Lines DL 650 7,246 km (4,502 mi; 3,913 nmi) 10:16 A330-300
14 Frankreich Paris-Orly Frankreich Cayenne Air Caraibes TX 570
Air France AF 852 		7,082 km (4,401 mi; 3,824 nmi) 9:10 A350-900
A350-1000
777-200
15 Niederlande Amsterdam Niederlande Saint Maarten KLM KL 725 6,939 km (4,312 mi; 3,747 nmi) 9:15 A330-200
16 Frankreich Lyon Frankreich Pointe-à-Pitre Corsair SS 742 6,921 km (4,301 mi; 3,737 nmi) 9:20 A330-300
17 Frankreich Paris-CDG Frankreich Fort-de-France Air France AF 810 6,873 km (4,271 mi; 3,711 nmi) 8:50 777-300ER
18 Frankreich Paris-Orly Air Caraibes TX 510 6,855 km (4,259 mi; 3,701 nmi) 8:55 A330-200

A330-300
A350-900
A350-1000

19 Vereinigte Staaten Chicago -O'Hare Vereinigte Staaten Honolulu American Airlines AA 75
United Airlines UA 219 		6,829 km (4,243 mi; 3,687 nmi) 9:11 777-200
787-8
20 Vereinigte Staaten Kailua-Kona United Airlines UA 66 6,780 km (4,210 mi; 3,660 nmi) 9:20 787-8
21 Frankreich Paris-CDG Frankreich Pointe-à-Pitre Air France AF 762 6,774 km (4,209 mi; 3,658 nmi) 9:00 777-300ER
22 Russland Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky Russland Moscow -Sheremetyevo Aeroflot SU 1731 6,764 km (4,203 mi; 3,652 nmi) 9:10 777-300ER
23 Vereinigte Staaten Chicago -O'Hare Vereinigte Staaten Kahului United Airlines UA 202 6,734 km (4,184 mi; 3,636 nmi) 9:23 777-200
24 Russland Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk Russland Moscow -Sheremetyevo Aeroflot SU 6274/6284 6,662 km (4,140 mi; 3,597 nmi) 8:50 777-300ER
25 Russland Vladivostok Aeroflot SU 6282

Nord Wind N4 566

6,423 km (3,991 mi; 3,468 nmi) 9:05 A330-200

A330-300 777-300ER

Discontinued Flights

Rank From To Flight Distance Scheduled

duration

Aircraft Final Flight
1 Frankreich Papeete Frankreich Paris-CDG Air Tahiti Nui TN 64[1] 15,715 km (9,765 mi; 8,485 nmi) 16:20 787-9 19 Apr 2020[6]
2 Vereinigte Staaten Charlotte Vereinigte Staaten Honolulu American Airlines AA 258/569 7,528 km (4,678 mi; 4,065 nmi) 10:06 777-200 3 Jan 2022[25]
3 Russland Sochi Russland Khabarovsk Transaero UN 2138[26] 6,900 km (4,300 mi; 3,700 nmi) 9:30 767-200 25 Oct 2015
4 Russland Vladivostok Russland Saint Petersburg Nord Wind N4 300 6,554 km (4,072 mi; 3,539 nmi) 8:45 A330-200 8 Jan 2022[27]

References

  1. ^ a b c "TN64 Flight Status / Air Tahiti Nui THT64 / TN 64 Flight Tracker". airportinfo.live. Retrieved 6 January 2021.
  2. ^ "Air Tahiti Nui – New Record For World's Longest Flight – Tahiti to Paris – WORKING" (Press release). Air Tahiti Nui. 19 March 2020. Archived from the original on 20 May 2020. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
  3. ^ @Flightradar24 (15 March 2020). "Because of COVID-19 flight restrictions, Air Tahiti Nui is operating its service to Paris non-stop from Papeete—without its normal stop at LAX. The flight is longer than SIN-EWR and at 15,715 km it is also the longest domestic flight in the world. https://flightradar24.com/THT64/24310bc8" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 8 April 2020. Retrieved 23 July 2020 – via Twitter.
  4. ^ Bailey, Joanna (16 March 2020). "Air Tahiti Nui flies the World's Longest Domestic Flight at 16 Hours!". Simple Flying. Archived from the original on 6 April 2020. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
  5. ^ "Moins de 150 passagers pour le premier vol sans escale Tahiti-Paris". TNTV Tahiti Nui Télévision (in French). 15 March 2020. Retrieved 10 June 2022.
  6. ^ a b "Air Tahiti Nui Will Fly Another Nonstop Papeete To Paris Flight". Simple Flying. 12 April 2020. Retrieved 6 January 2021.
  7. ^ Schlappig, Ben (14 March 2020). "Air Tahiti Nui operating World's Longest Commercial Flight". One Mile at a Time. PointsPros, Inc. Archived from the original on 21 December 2020. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
  8. ^ Field, James (17 May 2020). "French bee beats Air Tahiti Nui for longest domestic flight record". Airways Magazine. Airways International, Inc. Archived from the original on 21 December 2020. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
  9. ^ "#ReunitingSoon:Paris-Orly airport marks a pause". Archived from the original on 25 April 2020. Retrieved 6 January 2021.
  10. ^ a b "World record for the longest flight beaten by French bee between two French airports: 16,129 kilometers between Tahiti-Faa'a and Paris-Orly" (PDF) (Press release). French bee. 15 May 2020. Archived (PDF) from the original on 21 December 2020. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
  11. ^ "Another longest "domestic" flight: ITJ | Transport Journal". www.transportjournal.com. Retrieved 28 May 2021.
  12. ^ "World's longest domestic flight beaten by French Bee: an Airbus A350-900s between Tahiti and Paris Orly". Aviation24.be. Retrieved 28 May 2021.
  13. ^ Li, Neo (15 March 2020). "Air Tahiti Nui operate world longest domestic flight". Sam Chui Aviation & Travel. Archived from the original on 29 September 2020. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
  14. ^ "Air Tahiti Nui breaks record for World's Longest Passenger Flight due to Covid-19". Travel Weekly. The Misfits Media Company. 24 March 2020. Archived from the original on 21 December 2020. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
  15. ^ "Because of coronavirus, the world's longest-ever passenger flight". The Mercury News. San Jose, CA. 17 March 2020. Archived from the original on 21 December 2020. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
  16. ^ Liu, Jim (12 February 2018). "French Bee opens San Francisco reservation from May 2018". Routesonline. Informa Markets. Archived from the original on 21 December 2020. Retrieved 21 July 2020.
  17. ^ Street, Francesca (17 March 2020). "Virus creates world's longest passenger flight". CNN Travel. Cable News Network. Archived from the original on 21 December 2020. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
  18. ^ "Coronavirus COVID-19: Flight Schedule Update" (Press release). Air Tahiti Nui. 23 March 2020. Archived from the original on 23 July 2020. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
  19. ^ Liu, Jim (15 June 2020). "Air Tahiti Nui July 2020 Paris CDG routing adjustment". Routesonline. Informa Markets. Archived from the original on 21 December 2020. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
  20. ^ Singh, Chhavianshika (18 March 2020). "Coronavirus Helps Air Tahiti Nui Set New Record for World's Longest Flight". News18. Associated Press. Archived from the original on 21 December 2020. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
  21. ^ "Information for travelers" (Press release). French bee. 15 July 2020. Archived from the original on 20 July 2020. Retrieved 20 July 2020.
  22. ^ "All Airlines flying CDG to RUN". Flightmapper.net.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  23. ^ "History | Aéroport de La Réunion Roland Garros". www.reunion.aeroport.fr. Retrieved 18 November 2021.
  24. ^ "All arlines flying from Orly, Paris to Saint-Denis, Reunion". FlightMapper.net.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  25. ^ Reed, Ted. "American Airlines Again Halts Charlotte-Honolulu, But Charlotte-Munich And Philly-Zurich Start Thursday". Forbes. Retrieved 5 January 2022.
  26. ^ "Transaero Adds Khabarovsk – Sochi / Mineralnye Vody Service July – Sep 2013". Routes Online. 10 July 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  27. ^ "N4300 Flight Status Nordwind Airlines: Vladivostok to St. Petersburg (NWS300)". www.airportia.com. Retrieved 5 January 2022.
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