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A non-stop Qantas flight from London to Sydney has taken off from Heathrow.<\/p>\nA non-stop Qantas flight from London to Sydney has taken off from Heathrow.<\/p>\n
The Australian airline is using the flight to research the impact of ultra-long haul trips on passengers and crew.<\/p>\n
Forty people are on board the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner which took off at 6am on Thursday for the 19-hour flight to the other side of the world.<\/p>\n
A Dreamliner can usually carry between 230 and 300 people.<\/p>\n
Currently it is impossible to fly a plane at full capacity from London to cities on the east coast of Australia without stopping to refuel.<\/p>\n
Qantas began flying non-stop from London to Perth in Western Australia in March 2018, as it is 1,600 miles closer.<\/p>\n
Thursday\u2019s flight is part of Project Sunrise, a bid to operate commercial flights from Sydney to London and New York by 2022 if plane makers Airbus or Boeing can provide a suitable aircraft.<\/p>\n
Qantas said all carbon emissions from the test flight will be fully offset.<\/p>\n
Those on board are mostly Qantas employees fitted with monitors to track their sleep patterns, food and drink intake and physical movements.<\/p>\n
The data will be assessed by researchers at the University of Sydney to assess the impact of the flight on their health, well-being and body clock.<\/p>\n
A team from Melbourne\u2019s Monash University is working with pilots and crew to monitor melatonin levels before, during and after the flight. Melatonin is the hormone that regulates sleep cycles.<\/p>\n
Pilots are wearing a device that tracks brain wave patterns and monitors alertness.<\/p>\n
Qantas will also gather feedback from passengers on food choices, stretching and well-being zones, and in-flight entertainment.<\/p>\n
The airline\u2019s chief executive Alan Joyce said previously: \u201cUltra-long haul flying presents a lot of common sense questions about the comfort and well-being of passengers and crew.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese flights are going to provide invaluable data to help answer them.\u201d<\/p>\n
It will be the second aircraft to fly the route non-stop \u2013 the first touched down in August 1989.<\/p>\n
Qantas flew a Dreamliner non-stop from New York to Sydney last month as part of Project Sunrise, although the route is around 1,000 miles shorter.<\/p>\n
It is due to make a final decision on the viability of Project Sunrise as a commercial flight route by the end of the year.<\/p>\n