Qatar Airways launches world's longest flight

Qatar Airways, which launched its first flight to Auckland in New Zealand, said the return flight will be the longest by a commercial airline in terms of flying time.

A spokeswoman for the airline confirmed that flight QR920 departed Hamad International Airport and is scheduled to arrive at Auckland Airport at 07:30 local time (18:30 GMT).

The flight is expected to take 16 hours and 20 minutes, while the return flight will take 17 hours and 30 minutes and will be the longest in the world, according to the flight tracking website Flightradar24.

Qatar Airways said it is using a Boeing 777 aircraft for its first flight to New Zealand, which covers a distance of 14,534 kilometers. Technological developments over the past decade have contributed to increased fuel efficiency, which encourages longer flights.

The previous record for the longest scheduled flight was held by Emirates, which launched direct flights to Auckland from Dubai in March 2016.