Key points:

• The 18-hour flight from Argentina will touch down in Darwin this evening
• It will make Darwin airport the first in the country to receive non-stop flights from all six continents
• An announcement on the possibility of rerouting Qantas' London flight through Darwin is expected within days

A COVID-19 repatriation flight due to arrive in Darwin from Buenos Aires tonight will set a new record for the longest commercial flight ever operated by Qantas.

Passengers will be in the air for nearly 18 hours before touching down at Darwin Airport this evening, after travelling 14,683 kilometres. "It is just under 200 kilometres longer than the [Perth-to-London] flight, which currently holds the record for Qantas," aviation analyst Bruce Dale said. The flight also marks a milestone moment for Darwin Airport, which will become the first airport in Australia — and one of very few in the world — to receive non-stop flights from all six continents.
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A record breaking repatriation flight has flown 15,020 kilometres from Buenos Aires to Darwin and touched down after 17 hours and 25 minutes in the air.

Since March 2020 the airline has operated hundreds of charter and repatriation flights of behalf of the Australian Government to bring Australians home during the COVID19 pandemic, flying to 31 destinations overseas, including 19 that aren’t part of the airline’s regular network.

QF14 carried 107 passengers and flew non-stop from Buenos Aires to Darwin. The flight was 522 kilometres further than the airlines regular scheduled non-stop Perth to London flights which took off in March 2018 before they were paused due to the closure of Australia’s international border
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