Qatar Airways inaugurates the world's longest commercial flight

Catamaran airline Qatar Airways inaugurated the world's longest commercial flight between Doha and Auckland on Sunday, a company spokesman said.

The flight QR920 left the capital of Qatar at 05H02 local (02H02 GMT) and is scheduled to land in Auckland (New Zealand) at 07H30 local (18H30 GMT).

The Boeing 777 plans to cover the route in 16 hours and 20 minutes, cross ten time zones, fly over five countries and travel a total distance of 14,535 kilometers before arriving in New Zealand.

For the return flight, the flight takes 17 hours and 30 minutes because of contrary winds, the airline's website said.

This is the longest air flight in hours, according to Flightradar specialists24.

Qatar Airways did not give the number of crew on board, but it is known that this type of flights need four pilots and 15 flight attendants and helpers on board.

In March 2016, the Emirates company had launched what was then considered the longest flight in the world, between Dubai and Auckland, a 14,200-kilometer journey.