Lufthansa Set to Take Off on Longest Non-stop Flight

This coming Sunday, January 31, an Airbus A350-900 will take off on the longest non-stop flight in Lufthansa's history under flight number LH2574: 13,700 kilometers from Hamburg to the military base Mount Pleasant in the Falkland Islands.

At 9:30 p.m., it's "ready for take-off" for 16 crew members and 92 passengers. The flight will be operated by D-AIXP which was delivered to Lufthansa in 2020.

On board the 15-hour flight will be scientists and ship crews traveling to the upcoming expedition with the research vessel Polarstern.

As the hygiene requirements for this flight are extremely high, the Lufthansa crew went into quarantine two weeks ago together with the passengers in a hotel in Bremerhaven. During this time, they participated in a virtual information and sports program.

To make the flight comfortable, passengers travel in Business Class and in the Sleeper's Rows. In the Sleeper’s Row, a row of seats in Economy Class is equipped with a mattress, blanket and pillows.

The A350-900 also features lighting technology to support the sleep/night rhythm. For this flight, for example, the cabin lighting was adapted in such a way that the four-hour time difference will only cause minimal jet lag.

After landing on the Falkland Islands, the expedition members will continue their journey to Antarctica on the research vessel Polarstern. Due to legal requirements in the Falkland Islands, the Lufthansa crew will again go into quarantine after landing.

The return flight will depart on February 3 under flight number LH2575 with destination Munich. Arrival in Munich is scheduled for Thursday, February 4 at 2 p.m. On board this return flight will be crews of the Polarstern, which had left Germany on December 20.

The latest coverage of the Lufthansa record-breaking flight can be followed on our social media channels: @lufthansaNews (Twitter) and @lufthansaviews (Instagram) - #LHLongestFlight.