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

Historical records

Longest domestic flight

"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] was only partially filled with passengers.[4][5] TN64 continued to operate the flight through March and April 2020, with its final flight on 19 April 2020.[6][1]

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).[7]

Longest domestic flight (cargo only)

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.[8] This flight did not carry passengers in part as Orly Airport was closed to all commercial passenger traffic from March to June 2020.[9] 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.[10][11][12]

Background

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.[13][14] 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.[15][16] 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.[10][17]

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,[18] as well as stopping at Vancouver International Airport in the Canadian province of British Columbia.[19] 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.[20][21]

Current record

Longest domestic flight (active)

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.[22] 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.[23] 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.[24]

Longest domestic flights (top 25, by great circle distance)

Rank	From	To	Flight	Distance	Scheduled duration	Aircraft
1	Saint Denis, Reunion	Paris-CDG	Air France AF 647 Air Austral UU 971/975	9,349 km (5,809 mi; 5,048 nmi)	11:40	777-200 777-300ER 787-8
2		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	A350-900 A350-1000 777-200 777-300ER
3		Marseille	Corsair SS 633	8,781 km (5,456 mi; 4,741 nmi)	11:20	A330-900
4	Boston	Honolulu	Hawaiian Airlines HA 89	8,199 km (5,095 mi; 4,427 nmi)	11:35	A330-200
5	New York-JFK		Hawaiian Airlines HA 51	8,020 km (4,980 mi; 4,330 nmi)	11:25	A330-200
6	Newark		United Airlines UA 363	7,986 km (4,962 mi; 4,312 nmi)	10:58	767-400 777-200
7		Kahului	United Airlines UA 42	7,891 km (4,903 mi; 4,261 nmi)	10:55	767-300
8	Aruba	Amsterdam	Tuifly Netherlands OR 364	7,883 km (4,898 mi; 4,256 nmi)	9:55	787-8
9	Curaçao		KLM KL 734 Tuifly Netherlands OR 358	7,838 km (4,870 mi; 4,232 nmi)	10:15	777-200 777-300ER 787-8
10	Bonaire		KLM KL 765 Tuifly Netherlands OR 366	7,796 km (4,844 mi; 4,210 nmi)	10:10	777-200 777-300ER 787-8
11	Washington D.C. -Dulles	Honolulu	United Airlines UA 345	7,752 km (4,817 mi; 4,186 nmi)	10:46	767-400
12	Atlanta		Delta Air Lines DL 650	7,246 km (4,502 mi; 3,913 nmi)	10:16	A330-300 A350-900
13	Paris-Orly	Cayenne	Air Caraibes TX 570 Air France AF 852	7,082 km (4,401 mi; 3,824 nmi)	9:10	A350-900 A350-1000 777-200
14	Amsterdam	Saint Maarten	KLM KL 725	6,939 km (4,312 mi; 3,747 nmi)	9:15	A330-200
15	Lyon	Pointe-à-Pitre	Corsair SS 742	6,921 km (4,301 mi; 3,737 nmi)	9:20	A330-300
16	Paris-CDG	Fort-de-France	Air France AF 810	6,873 km (4,271 mi; 3,711 nmi)	8:50	777-300ER
17	Paris-Orly		Air Caraibes TX 510	6,855 km (4,259 mi; 3,701 nmi)	8:55	A330-300 A350-900 A350-1000
18	Chicago -O'Hare	Honolulu	United Airlines UA 219	6,829 km (4,243 mi; 3,687 nmi)	9:35	787-10
19		Kailua-Kona	United Airlines UA 66	6,780 km (4,210 mi; 3,660 nmi)	9:23	787-8 787-10
20	Paris-CDG	Pointe-à-Pitre	Air France AF 762	6,774 km (4,209 mi; 3,658 nmi)	9:00	777-300ER
21	Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky	Moscow -Sheremetyevo	Aeroflot SU 1731	6,764 km (4,203 mi; 3,652 nmi)	9:10	777-300ER
22	Chicago -O'Hare	Kahului	United Airlines UA 202	6,734 km (4,184 mi; 3,636 nmi)	9:23	777-200 787-8
23	Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk	Moscow -Sheremetyevo	Aeroflot SU 6274/6284	6,662 km (4,140 mi; 3,597 nmi)	8:50	777-300ER
24	Vladivostok		Aeroflot SU 6282 Nord Wind N4 566	6,423 km (3,991 mi; 3,468 nmi)	9:05	A330-200 A330-300 777-300ER
25	Minneapolis–Saint Paul	Honolulu	Delta DL 435	6,391 km (3,971 mi; 3,451 nmi)	9:15	767-300ER

Discontinued Flights

Rank	From	To	Flight	Distance	Scheduled duration	Aircraft	Final Flight
1	Papeete	Paris-CDG	Air Tahiti Nui TN 64[1]	15,715 km (9,765 mi; 8,485 nmi)	16:20	787-9	19 Apr 2020[6]
2	Orlando	Honolulu	Hawaiian Airlines HA 85	7,655 km (4,757 mi; 4,133 nmi)	10:50	A330-200	8 Sep 2022[25]
3	Charlotte		American Airlines AA 258/569	7,528 km (4,678 mi; 4,065 nmi)	10:06	777-200	3 Jan 2022[26]
4	Sochi	Khabarovsk	Transaero UN 2138[27]	6,900 km (4,300 mi; 3,700 nmi)	9:30	767-200	25 Oct 2015
5	Vladivostok	Saint Petersburg	Nord Wind N4 300	6,554 km (4,072 mi; 3,539 nmi)	8:45	A330-200	8 Jan 2022[28]

References