AUSTRALIA’S flag carrier has announced a new date for their direct 20-hour long flights.

Qantas Airways now hopes that “Project Sunrise” takes off in 2026, following huge delays from the pandemic.

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The groundbreaking initiative will let Aussies fly from the east coast cities of Sydney and Melbourne into cities like New York and London.

The airline hopes to use Airbus A350 for its ambitious flights which will feature zero stops.

Qantas already flies directly from Perth to London and to Rome which have proved successful.

CEO Vanessa Hudson told News.com.au: “Project Sunrise is an A350 that will have four cabins … first class, business class, premium economy and economy.”

She continued: “It will be able to fly from the east coast, so Sydney and Melbourne, to New York and London direct.”

Hudson explained that the flag carrier’s successful record with long haul flights made the radical 20-hour flights a no-brainer.

British Airways is the only other carrier to fly directly from the UK to Australia.

It’s not clear how much flights from Australia to New York or London will cost but direct flights are notoriously extortionate.

Qantas first announced Project Sunrise in the summer of 2017, later challenging both Boeing and Airbus to craft a jet that could handle such long flights.

According to Qantas, Airbus successfully secured the gig.

But former CEO Alan Joyce explained that Qantas had to put Project Sunrise on hold following the outbreak of Covid-19.

This comes after a new budget airline promising cheap long-haul flights was forced to delay its launch date by a year.

British startup Global Airlines claimed it will provide cheap routes from the UK to the US and recently acquired an Airbus A380, considered to be the world’s largest and most spacious passenger aircraft.

Flights had initially been expected to take off this summer, but the carrier has now stated 2025 is its target instead.

However, necessary work on the plane is not yet complete and will push the airline’s target back until next year.

Global first intends to refit the aircraft in its own style, while also carrying out essential maintenance needed for it to be able to serve passengers.

Once up in the air, the plane will take passengers from London to New York and Los Angeles, according to the airline’s start-up announcement.

For the time being, however, the plane will remain in Glasgow, where it is being prepared.

A spokesperson for the airline told Flight Global: “[Operations] and maintenance timelines, like for any airline, have led us to reappraise when we’ll be operational.

“2025 is the target and we’re working with various partners to achieve this.”

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