Girmek
On December 4, 2018, China Eastern Airlines launched its first flight from Shanghai to Buenos Aires, making it the longest commercial flight in aviation history, MIR24 reports.
Flight MU745 covers a distance of almost 20,000 kilometers (19 631 km to be exact), and the flight time from Shanghai to Buenos Aires is approximately 25 hours and 30 minutes. The return trip takes up to 27-29 hours due to headwinds over the Pacific Ocean.
Although the route is marketed as direct, it includes a technical stopover in Auckland, New Zealand, lasting approximately two hours. Passengers remain on board during the stopover, and do not change aircraft or flight numbers, allowing this route to be classified as "direct," although not nonstop.
Flights operate twice a week on Boeing 777-300ER aircraft: Mondays and Thursdays from Shanghai, Tuesdays and Fridays from Buenos Aires.
The new route reduces travel time between China and South America by more than four hours compared to traditional flights via Europe or North America, which took over 30 hours including lengthy transfers.
This route surpasses the previous record—Xiamen Airlines' nonstop flight from New York to Fuzhou, China, which took 19 hours and 20 minutes.