An Emirates plane has completed the world's longest non-stop scheduled commercial flight
A plane touched down in New Zealand on Wednesday after completing what is thought to be the longest non-stop commercial flight in history.
The Emirates Airbus A380 set off from Dubai and landed 8,824 miles (14,200 km) and 17 hours and 15 minutes later in Auckland in the north of New Zealand.
The near-9,000 mile trek now holds the record for the longest recorded non-stop commercial flight - an accolade that was previously head by Qantas' 8,574 mile (13,800 km) Sydney to Dallas route launched in 2014.
A spokesperson for Emirates described it as "one of the longest air routes in the world by distance."
Speaking to AFP they 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 tail winds and avoiding head winds to reduce the time in the air."
The Dubai-Auckland flight was made by an A380 but the regular service will be carried out using the Boeing 777.