World's longest domestic flight

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The flight path between Papeete and Paris.[1]

The world's longest commercial domestic passenger flight occurred due to the 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.[2] It is considered a domestic flight as French Polynesia forms an integral part of the French Republic.

Records[]

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

Longest domestic flight[]

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 in 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.[3] The Boeing 787-9 operating the flight (registered F-OTOA)[4] was only partially filled with passengers.[5] TN64 continued to operate the flight through March and April 2020, with its final flight on 19 April 2020.[6][2]

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 was 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.[1][13] 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.[14][15] 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][16]

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,[17] as well as stopping at Vancouver International Airport in the Canadian province of British Columbia.[18] 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.[19][20]

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b 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.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b "TN64 Flight Status / Air Tahiti Nui THT64 / TN 64 Flight Tracker". airportinfo.live. Retrieved 6 January 2021.
  3. ^ "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.
  4. ^ Flightradar24 [@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. flightradar24.com/THT64/24310bc8" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 8 April 2020. Retrieved 23 July 2020 – via Twitter.
  5. ^ 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.
  6. ^ "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. ^ Jump up to: 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. ^ "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.
  14. ^ "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.
  15. ^ 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.
  16. ^ 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.
  17. ^ "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.
  18. ^ 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.
  19. ^ Singh, Chhavianshika (18 March 2020). "Coronavirus Helps Air Tahiti Nui Set New Record for World's Longest Flight". CNN-News18. Associated Press. Archived from the original on 21 December 2020. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
  20. ^ "Information for travelers" (Press release). French bee. 15 July 2020. Archived from the original on 20 July 2020. Retrieved 20 July 2020.
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