Aircraft Orders and Deliveries Aircraft Manufacturing (OEMs) Airbus A350 Airbus

Airbus launches A350-1000ULR nonstop ultra-long-range test flight for Qantas Project Sunrise from Toulouse to Melbourne

Airbus has begun the first nonstop, long-endurance test flight of the A350-1000ULR, taking off from Toulouse on a mission to Melbourne. The test aircraft will validate systems including the aft fuel tank as part of Qantas’ Project Sunrise certification work, marking the longest flight to date in the A350-1000ULR program.

Discovered 2026-07-22T23:49:31.938841-07:00 | 2026-07-22T23:49:31.938841-07:00

Briefing

What Hype is tracking

This nonstop Toulouse–Melbourne flight represents a major step in validating the A350-1000ULR’s ultra-long-range configuration for Qantas’ Project Sunrise, including systems testing such as the aft fuel tank.
It builds directly on Airbus’ announcement that an ultra-long test flight was imminent for long-range capability validation (source:9b6808f9-0a82-4d86-91a4-bd048d88a8dd).
For OEM and airline stakeholders, the milestone tightens the schedule-critical link between certification/validation flight progress and the feasibility of scheduled ultra-long-haul operations.

Reported By

haber.aero FlightGlobal AeroTime FL360aero