25/10/2016
Air India earns longest non-stop flight record by flying Delhi-San Francisco over Pacific
Taking the Pacific route which is almost 1,400 km longer than the Atlantc route, Air India's Delhi-Francisco flight has earned the record for the world's longest non-stop flight. The long route of 15,300 km was covered in a duration of 14.5 hours which is still two hours less than the scheduled time. This was possible thanks to increased speed as a result of tailwinds which blow in the direction of flight of the aircraft. The winds play a major role in speed and duration of flight. According to an official of Air India, while taking the Atlantic route, the flight has to face headwinds of around 24 kmph which blow against the flight direction reducing the speed. The aircraft which flies at a speed of 800 kmph is therefore brought down to 776 kmph. On the other hand, on the Pacific route with tailwinds of 138 kmph, the speed of the same aircraft is 938 kmph.
