An Emirates plane has completed the world's longest nonstop scheduled commercial flight

A plane touched down in New Zealand on Wednesday after completing what is thought to be the longest nonstop commercial flight in history.

The Emirates Airbus A380 set off from Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and landed 8,824 miles (14,200 kilometers) and 17 hours 15 minutes later in Auckland in the north of New Zealand.
The journey of nearly 9,000 miles holds the record for the longest recorded nonstop commercial flight — an accolade that was previously head by Qantas' 8,574-mile (13,800 km) route from Sydney to Dallas launched in 2014.

But Emirates is scheduled to break its own record very soon as the airline's service from Dubai to Panama City is expected to take 17 hours 35 minutes when it launches later this month.

An Emirates representative described it as "one of the longest air routes in the world by distance."
Speaking with AFP, the person said: "But with the assistance of clever technology and good planning, passengers will get to their destination in the shortest possible time. Emirates will be using flexible routes, which can vary by day, taking advantage of tailwinds and avoiding headwinds to reduce the time in the air."

New Zealand Transport Minister Simon Bridges said the nonstop service, which slashes about three hours off previous Dubai-Auckland travel times, enhanced the country's connectivity to the rest of the world.

"Direct flights will encourage even more trade and tourism between our two countries, by offering more choice to passengers and freight customers," he told AFP.

The Dubai-Auckland flight was made by an A380, but the regular service will be carried out using the Boeing 777.