Why Did Qantas Fly 16,000 KM From Brisbane To Saint Lucia?
— Updated on 11 January 2023

Why Did Qantas Fly 16,000 KM From Brisbane To Saint Lucia?

— Updated on 11 January 2023
Garry Lu
WORDS BY
Garry Lu

With the exception of a certain travel bubble that’s currently suspended, international flights from Australia have largely been grounded for some time now. So what motivated Qantas to undertake a mammoth 16,000 kilometre journey with one of its Boeing 787s from Brisbane to St Lucia in this current climate? A journey, it’s worth adding, that’s almost 1,000 km lengthier than the world’s longest regularly scheduled flight from Singapore to New York. Funnily enough, the motive behind the mission was all for the sake of cricket.

Departing from Brisbane Airport around 1 PM Monday headed for St Lucia, Qantas Flight 6079 managed to touch down in sunny Vieux Fort after an efficient 16 hours due to strong tailwinds. Ordinarily, with a full passenger load and all the associated cargo, the Qantas 787-9 (registration: VH-ZNHF) would only manage a range of approximately 14,498 kilometres. But given how Flight QF6079 was only transporting the Australian men’s cricket team and a bit of kit, they made it to the other side of the world without needing to make any stops.

RELATED: The Australia Cricket Team’s Private Jet Mission To England

Qantas 10,000 Miles Brisbane To Saint Lucia QF6079 Australia Cricket Team
Source: Simple Flying
Qantas 10,000 Miles Brisbane To Saint Lucia QF6079 Australia Cricket Team
Source: cricket.com.au

“Not only does this flight cover an extremely long distance, but it’s also one of the most remote flights operating in the world right now,” explains Ben Schlappig from One Mile At A Time.

“There aren’t many ultra long haul flights in the Southern Hemisphere – there are very few diversion points in many parts of the South Pacific Ocean – and the plane [spent] nearly 9,000 consecutive miles over the ocean.”

The Qantas Flight QF6079 from Brisbane to St Lucia marks the first time our boys have landed in the Caribbean in five years. There, the team will play a total of eight games against their West Indies hosts – five T20s, three ODIs -across two weeks from July 9th.

Now watch our 60-second interview with Pat Cummins below.

Subscribe to B.H. Magazine

Garry Lu
WORDS by
After stretching his legs with companies such as The Motley Fool and the odd marketing agency, Garry joined Boss Hunting in 2019 as a fully-fledged Content Specialist. In 2021, he was promoted to News Editor. Garry proudly retains a blue belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, black bruises from Muay Thai, as well as a black belt in all things pop culture. Drop him a line at [email protected]

TAGS

Share the article