The record for the longest flight in international civil air passenger transport belongs to China Eastern Airlines' Shanghai–Buenos Aires flight, which commenced on December 4, 2025. Operated as flight MU745, the route, covering approximately 20,000 km and lasting 29 hours, surpassed the previous record holder, Xiamen Airlines' New York–Fuzhou flight (19 hours 20 minutes).
The flight, operated twice a week with a Boeing 777-300ER, includes a mandatory refueling stop of approximately 2.5 hours at Auckland Airport in New Zealand due to the extreme length of the route. Passengers do not disembark during this time; Therefore, according to aviation terminology, this route is considered a "direct" flight, not a "connecting" one.
This route, largely over the South Pacific and connecting three continents (Asia, Australia, and South America), is called the "Southern Corridor." The travel time between China and South America, which previously reached 30 hours with connecting flights via North America or Europe, has been reduced to approximately 25 hours thanks to this new route. Furthermore, because Shanghai and Buenos Aires are located at opposite points on the globe (antipodal), this route also holds the distinction of being the first commercial flight in history to connect two antipodal cities.
