An Emirates plane has completed the world's longest non-stop scheduled commercial flight

Julian Herzog

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.

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

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."

 New Zealand Transport Minister Simon Bridges said the non-stop service, which slashes around three hours off current 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.