The world’s longest nonstop flights, updated

Editor’s note: This is an updated version of a story originally published in May 2018.

Singapore Airlines currently operates the longest flight in the world, a whopping 9,527-mile nonstop from New York to the Lion City. Singapore Airlines also operates the second-longest flight in the world, the two-mile shorter, five-times weekly hop from Newark to Singapore and the third-longest flight, from Los Angeles to — you guessed it — Singapore.

For many of the world’s longest flights, winds can alter flight times considerably — especially in the direction that’s typically against the prevailing winds. For the Singapore to New York flight, a strong headwind could turn what’s normally 19-hour flight into a 22-hour one. Yikes! Thankfully, this route, and the others listed here, are almost all flown in some of the most advanced passenger cabins to date, even if most don’t come with a first-class cabin, but only business.

So, what are the world’s longest routes? You’ve come to the right place to find out. Here are the top 10 longest routes measured by statute miles as calculated by travel data firm OAG. Duration of flight data is provided by Cirium, an aviation data service.

We’ve listed the flight that typically has the longest scheduled flying time, normally the one that flies in the direction where headwinds are normal. Given geopolitical tensions associated with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, some actual flight times might be considerably longer than what is listed as airlines avoid Russian airspace. Other routes that might not normally make the cut — such as Cathay’s JFK-Hong Kong route — are flying longer-than-normal flight paths as they also seek to avoid Russian airspace.

The list below shows the world’s longest regularly scheduled flights operating at least once weekly as of May 1, 2022.

As the airline industry continues to emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic, some new and interesting ultra-long-haul routes have been announced for later this year, such as New York to Auckland on Air New Zealand and Dallas-Fort Worth to Melbourne on Qantas. Another notable ultra-long-haul route — Qantas’ nonstop between London and Perth — was suspended during the pandemic but is expected to resume later this year. For now, it’s operating from Darwin, Australia, which offers a shorter nonstop to London — but is still long enough to make the top 10.

Scroll down to see the full list, and we’ll update it regularly as new routes begin and suspended ones resume.

Note: All mileage calculations come courtesy of OAG. Other data providers may show slightly different mileage calculations.

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1. Singapore Airlines: New York (JFK), to Singapore (SIN)

• Flight Number: SQ 23
• Aircraft Flying: Airbus A350-900ULR
• Calculated Distance: 9,527 miles
• Duration of Flight: 18h 50m

2. Singapore Airlines: New York/Newark (EWR), to Singapore (SIN)

• Flight Number: SQ 21
• Aircraft Flying: Airbus A350-900ULR
• Calculated Distance: 9,525 miles
• Duration of Flight: 18h 45m

3. Singapore Airlines: Los Angeles (LAX), to Singapore (SIN)

• Flight Numbers: SQ 35/37
• Aircraft Flying: Airbus A350-900ULR
• Calculated Distance: 8,759 miles
• Duration of Flight: 17h 10m

4. Qantas: Darwin, Australia (DRW), to London (LHR)

• Flight Number: QF 1/9
• Aircraft Flying: Boeing 787-9
• Calculated Distance: 8,613 miles
• Duration of Flight: 17h 55m

5. Qantas: Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW), to Sydney (SYD)

• Flight Number: QF 8
• Aircraft Flying: Boeing 787-9
• Calculated Distance: 8,576 miles
• Duration of Flight: 16h 45m

6. Philippine Airlines: New York (JFK), to Manila (MNL)

• Flight Number: PR 127
• Aircraft Flying: Airbus A350-900
• Calculated Distance: 8,507 miles
• Duration of Flight: 16h 55m

7. United Airlines and Singapore Airlines: San Francisco (SFO), to Singapore (SIN)

• Flight Number: UA 1/SQ 33
• Aircraft Flying: Boeing 787-9 (UA)/A350-900 (SQ)
• Calculated Distance: 8,435 miles
• Duration of Flight: 17h 00m (UA)/16h 40m (SQ)

8. Delta Air Lines: Johannesburg (JNB), to Atlanta (ATL)

• Flight Number: DL 201
• Aircraft Flying: Airbus A350-900
• Calculated Distance: 8,434 miles
• Duration of Flight: 16h 20m

9. Emirates: Dubai (DXB) to Los Angeles (LAX)

• Flight Number: EK 215
• Aircraft Flying: Airbus A380
• Calculated Distance: 8,323 miles
• Duration of Flight: 16h 20m

10. Saudia: Jeddah, Saudi Arabia (JED) to Los Angeles (LAX)

• Flight Number: SV 41
• Aircraft Flying: Boeing 777-300ER
• Calculated Distance: 8,317 miles
• Duration of Flight: 16h 10m

Additional reported by Zach Wichter, TPG

Featured photo by C. v. Grinsven/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images.