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World's longest domestic flight

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The great-circle route of the longest domestic flight between Papeete and Paris; the longest domestic commercial passenger flight in history (by great-circle distance). To take advantage of prevailing tailwinds, the actual routes flown tended to be more southerly.

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 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, 26 minutes.[1] It was a domestic flight as French Polynesia forms an integral part of the French Republic.

Historical records

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Longest domestic flight

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"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] carrying between 130-150 passengers (and no cargo[4] on the eastbound route).[5][6] TN64 continued to operate the flight through March and April 2020, with its final flight on 19 April 2020.[1][7][8][9][10]

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).[11]

Longest domestic flight (cargo only)

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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.[12] This flight did not carry passengers in part as Orly Airport was closed to all commercial passenger traffic from March to June 2020.[13] 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.[14][15][16][5]

Background

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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.[17] 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.[18][19] 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.[14][20]

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,[21] as well as stopping at Vancouver International Airport in the Canadian province of British Columbia.[22] 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.[23][24]

Current record

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Longest domestic flight (active)

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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.[25] 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.[26] 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 (7.5 mi).[27]

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 30, by great circle distance)

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Rank From To Flight Distance Scheduled

duration

Aircraft
1 France Paris–CDG France Saint Denis, Reunion Air France AF 647
Air Austral UU 971/975 		9,349 km (5,809 mi; 5,048 nmi) 11:40 777-300ER
2 France 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
A350-1000
777-300ER
3 France Marseille Corsair SS 633 8,781 km (5,456 mi; 4,741 nmi) 11:20 A330-900
4 United States Boston United States Honolulu Hawaiian Airlines HA 89 8,199 km (5,095 mi; 4,427 nmi) 11:35 A330-200
5 France Paris–CDG France Mayotte Air Austral UU 976 8,030 km (4,990 mi; 4,340 nmi) 9:45 787-8
6 United States New York–JFK United States Honolulu Delta Air Lines DL 312
Hawaiian Airlines HA 51 		8,020 km (4,980 mi; 4,330 nmi) 11:25 A330-200
767-400ER
7 Netherlands Aruba Netherlands Amsterdam Tuifly Netherlands OR 364 7,883 km (4,898 mi; 4,256 nmi) 9:55 787-8
8 Netherlands Curaçao KLM KL 734
Tuifly Netherlands OR 358 		7,838 km (4,870 mi; 4,232 nmi) 10:15 A350-900
777-200
787-8
9 Netherlands Bonaire KLM KL 765
Tuifly Netherlands OR 366 		7,796 km (4,844 mi; 4,210 nmi) 10:10 A330-200
A330-300
787-8
10 United States Washington D.C.–Dulles United States Honolulu United Airlines UA 345 7,752 km (4,817 mi; 4,186 nmi) 10:46 767-400ER
11 United States Atlanta Delta Air Lines DL 650 7,246 km (4,502 mi; 3,913 nmi) 10:16 A330-300
A350-900
12 United States Detroit Delta Air Lines DL 797 7,202 km (4,475 mi; 3,889 nmi) 10:29 A330-300
13 France Paris–CDG France Cayenne Air France AF 952 7,107 km (4,416 mi; 3,837 nmi) 9:15 777-200ER
14 France Paris–Orly Air Caraibes TX 570 7,082 km (4,401 mi; 3,824 nmi) 9:10 A350-900
15 Netherlands Amsterdam Netherlands Saint Maarten KLM KL 725 6,939 km (4,312 mi; 3,747 nmi) 9:15 A330-200
16 France Paris–CDG France Fort-de-France Air France AF 810 6,873 km (4,271 mi; 3,711 nmi) 8:50 777-300ER
17 France Paris–Orly Air Caraibes TX 510 6,855 km (4,259 mi; 3,701 nmi) 8:55 A330-300
A350-900
A350-1000
18 United States Chicago–O'Hare United States Honolulu United Airlines UA 219 6,829 km (4,243 mi; 3,687 nmi) 9:35 787-10
19 United States Kailua-Kona United Airlines UA 66 6,780 km (4,210 mi; 3,660 nmi) 9:23 787-8
787-10
20 France Paris–CDG France Pointe-à-Pitre Air France AF 762 6,774 km (4,209 mi; 3,658 nmi) 9:00 777-300ER
21 Russia Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky Russia Moscow–Sheremetyevo Aeroflot SU 1731 6,764 km (4,203 mi; 3,652 nmi) 9:10 777-300ER
22 United States Chicago–O'Hare United States Kahului United Airlines UA 202 6,734 km (4,184 mi; 3,636 nmi) 9:23 787-8
787-10
23 Russia Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk Russia Moscow–Sheremetyevo Aeroflot SU 6274/6284 6,662 km (4,140 mi; 3,597 nmi) 8:50 777-300ER
24 Russia Vladivostok Russia Saint Petersburg Aeroflot SU 2983 6,554 km (4,072 mi; 3,539 nmi) 8:40 777-300ER
25 France Nantes France Fort-de-France Corsair SS 744[28] 6,528 km (4,056 mi; 3,525 nmi) 8:50 A330-300
26 Russia Vladivostok Russia Moscow–Sheremetyevo Aeroflot SU 1701 6,423 km (3,991 mi; 3,468 nmi) 8:55 A350-900
777-300ER
27 United States Minneapolis/Saint Paul United States Honolulu Delta Air Lines DL 312/435 6,392 km (3,972 mi; 3,451 nmi) 9:15 767-300ER
28 United States Houston United Airlines UA 253 6,282 km (3,903 mi; 3,392 nmi) 8:50 777-200
29 Russia Anadyr Russia Moscow–Sheremetyevo Aeroflot SU 6220 6,199 km (3,852 mi; 3,347 nmi) 8:10 777-300
30 Russia Khabarovsk Aeroflot SU 1711/1713/1715/1719 6,156 km (3,825 mi; 3,324 nmi) 8:20 A350-900
777-300ER

Discontinued flights

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Rank From To Flight Distance Scheduled

duration

Aircraft Final Flight
1 France Papeete France Paris–CDG Air Tahiti Nui TN 64[1] 15,715 km (9,765 mi; 8,485 nmi) 16:20 787-9 19 Apr 2020
3 United States Los Angeles United States Guam Braniff BN 505/926[29] 9,799 km (6,089 mi; 5,291 nmi) 11:20[29] 747-200[30]
747SP[31] 		13 Oct 1980[32]
2 United States Newark United States Honolulu United Airlines UA 363 7,986 km (4,962 mi; 4,312 nmi) 11:25 767-400ER 14 Apr 2024
3 United States Kahului United Airlines UA 42 7,891 km (4,903 mi; 4,261 nmi) 10:55 767-300ER 6 Jan 2024[33]
4 United States Orlando United States Honolulu Hawaiian Airlines HA 85 7,655 km (4,757 mi; 4,133 nmi) 10:50 A330-200 8 Sep 2022[34]
5 United States Charlotte American Airlines AA 258/569 7,528 km (4,678 mi; 4,065 nmi) 10:06 777-200 3 Jan 2022[35]
6 United States Atlanta United States Kahului Delta Air Lines DL 535 7,131 km (4,431 mi; 3,850 nmi) 9:55 A330-300 25 Mar 2023[36][37]
7 France Lyon France Pointe-à-Pitre Corsair SS 742 6,921 km (4,301 mi; 3,737 nmi) 9:20 A330-300 21 Apr 2023[38]
8 Russia Sochi Russia Khabarovsk Transaero UN 2138[39] 6,900 km (4,300 mi; 3,700 nmi) 9:30 767-200 25 Oct 2015
9 France Paris–Orly Netherlands Saint Maarten Air Caraibes TX 520 6,729 km (4,181 mi; 3,633 nmi) 8:25 A330-200 13 Dec 2022[40]

See also

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References

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  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. ^ Foster, Brent (12 May 2023). "Interview: Air Tahiti Nui, 25 Years of Connecting French Polynesia to the World". Airways. Retrieved 2 February 2024.
  5. ^ a b "World's longest domestic flight flies under radar - AeroTime". 27 May 2020. Retrieved 2 February 2024.
  6. ^ "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.
  7. ^ Street, Francesca (18 March 2020). "Virus creates world's longest passenger flight". CNN. Archived from the original on 3 December 2021. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
  8. ^ "Air Taihiti Nui schedules nonstop Papeete-Paris repatriation flights in April 2020". www.routesonline.com. Archived from the original on 24 December 2022. Retrieved 2 January 2024.
  9. ^ Air Tahiti Nui - Annual Report 2020 (PDF). 2021. pp. 4, 29.
  10. ^ "Air Tahiti Nui: un nouveau direct Papeete – Paris dimanche prochain – Air Journal". 13 April 2020. Retrieved 8 January 2024.
  11. ^ 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.
  12. ^ 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.
  13. ^ "#ReunitingSoon:Paris-Orly airport marks a pause". Archived from the original on 25 April 2020. Retrieved 6 January 2021.
  14. ^ 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.
  15. ^ "Another longest "domestic" flight: ITJ | Transport Journal". www.transportjournal.com. Retrieved 28 May 2021.
  16. ^ "World's longest domestic flight beaten by French Bee: an Airbus A350-900s between Tahiti and Paris Orly". Aviation24.be. 16 May 2020. Retrieved 28 May 2021.
  17. ^ "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.
  18. ^ "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.
  19. ^ 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.
  20. ^ 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.
  21. ^ "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.
  22. ^ 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.
  23. ^ 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.
  24. ^ "Information for travelers" (Press release). French bee. 15 July 2020. Archived from the original on 20 July 2020. Retrieved 20 July 2020.
  25. ^ "All Airlines flying CDG to RUN". Flightmapper.net.
  26. ^ "History | Aéroport de La Réunion Roland Garros". www.reunion.aeroport.fr. Retrieved 18 November 2021.
  27. ^ "All arlines flying from Orly, Paris to Saint-Denis, Reunion". FlightMapper.net.
  28. ^ "Corsair va relancer la ligne entre Nantes et Fort-de-France, ce qu'il faut savoir". actu.fr (in French). 17 May 2023. Retrieved 14 August 2023.
  29. ^ a b Braniff Airlines Timetable (October 28, 1979). 28 October 1979. p. 40.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  30. ^ "Braniff June 1979 Advertisement". Retrieved 14 May 2024.
  31. ^ "Braniff 1980 Advertisement". Retrieved 14 May 2024.
  32. ^ "Braniff Will Suspend Trans-Pacific Flights". The New York Times. 7 October 1980. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 14 May 2024.
  33. ^ "UA43 (UAL43) United Flight Tracking and History - FlightAware". 8 January 2024. Archived from the original on 8 January 2024. Retrieved 8 January 2024.
  34. ^ Villamizar, Helwing (10 July 2022). "Hawaiian Airlines Drops Nonstop Service to Orlando". airwaysmag.com. Retrieved 9 September 2022.
  35. ^ Reed, Ted. "American Airlines Again Halts Charlotte-Honolulu, But Charlotte-Munich And Philly-Zurich Start Thursday". Forbes. Retrieved 5 January 2022.
  36. ^ "Delta NW23 Kahului Service Changes – 10SEP23". AeroRoutes. Retrieved 11 September 2023.
  37. ^ "After Wildfires, Delta Scraps Flights to Maui from Minneapolis, Atlanta". 9 September 2023. Retrieved 11 September 2023.
  38. ^ "SS742 Flight Status / Corsair CRL742 / SS 742 Flight Tracker". airportinfo.live. Retrieved 14 August 2023.
  39. ^ "Transaero Adds Khabarovsk – Sochi / Mineralnye Vody Service July – Sep 2013". Routes Online. 10 July 2013.
  40. ^ Dept, Editorial (29 August 2022). "Air Caraïbes suspends transatlantic service to St. Maarten as of Dec. 13". The Daily Herald. Retrieved 2 May 2024.
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