Qantas Forced To Add A Fuel Stop To World’s Third-Longest Flight

Australian flag carrier Qantas is facing the prospect of adding a fuel stop to the world’s third-longest flight. The airline is taking steps to avoid flying over Iraq or Iran, following this morning’s crash of a Ukrainian Boeing 737. The extra distance required to divert means the airline will need to add a refueling stop in Asia to the outbound service, or offload a massive 90 passengers to reduce weight.

Avoiding Iranian and Iraqi airspace

The world’s third-longest flight is looking to lose its appeal as Qantas is forced to add a refueling stop to its Perth to London service. The Australian carrier has taken the decision to reroute QF9 and QF10 away from Iranian airspace following the crash of a Ukrainian Boeing 737 in the early hours of this morning.

QF9 and 10 usually traverse a large portion of Iranian and Iraqi airspace on their mammoth 14,500km flight. However, following the FAA’s decision to ban US airlines’ flying in Iranian and Iraqi airspace after this morning’s crash, Qantas has announced it will avoid flying over both these nations until further notice.