When people think of a domestic flight, a quick hop of an hour or two likely comes to mind. But there are long domestic flights that you may never have imagined, too. Do you know that some of the longest domestic flights in the world cover over 9,000 kilometers?
In this post, we share some of the longest domestic flights in the world.
The 10 Longest Domestic Flights in the World
*Note that all routes are ranked by “great circle” distance. Flights are on a non-stop basis.
1. St. Denis, Reunion (RUN) to Paris (CDG/ORY), France
Originally launched in 1994, the longest currently active domestic flight is between Saint-Denis, Réunion, France, and Paris, France (via Charles de Gaulle Airport and ORY). Previously operated by Air France as a direct flight with refuelling stops, it changed to a non-stop flight following the completion of the new longer runway at Saint-Denis that could accommodate widebodies.
Airline: Air France, Air Austral, Corsair, French Bee
Flight Distance: 9,349 km (5,048 NMI) / 9,337 km (5,042 NMI)
Flight Time: 11 Hours, 40 Minutes (CDG) / 12 Hours, 05 Minutes (ORY)
Aircraft: Airbus A330-900, A350-900, A350-1000, Boeing 777-300/ER
2. St. Denis, Reunion (RUN) – Marseille (MRS), France
Airline: Corsair
Flight Distance: 8,781 km (4,741 NMI)
Flight Time: 11 Hours, 20 Minutes
Aircraft: Airbus A330-900
3. Boston (BOS) – Honolulu (HNL), USA
Airline: Hawaiian Airlines
Flight Distance: 8,199 km (4,427 NMIi)
Flight Time: 11 Hours, 35 Minutes
Aircraft: Airbus A330-200
4. New York (JFK/EWR) – Honolulu (HNL), USA
Airline: Delta Air Lines, Hawaiian Airlines, United Airlines
Flight Distance: 8,020 km (4,330 NMI) / 7,986 km (4,312 NMI)
Flight Time: 11 Hours, 25 Minutes (JFK) / 10 Hours, 58 Minutes (EWR)
Aircraft: Airbus A330-200, Boeing 767-400ER
5. Newark (EWR) – Kahului (OGG), USA
Airline: United Airlines
Flight Distance: 7,891 km (4,261 NMI)
Flight Time: 10 Hours, 50 Minutes
Aircraft: Boeing 767-400ER
6. Bonaire (BON) – Amsterdam (AMS), The Netherlands
Airline: KLM, TUIfly Netherlands
Flight Distance: 7,796 km (4,210 NMI)
Flight Time: 10 Hours, 10 Minutes
Aircraft: Airbus A330-200, A330-300, Boeing 787-8
7. Honolulu (HNL) – Washington Dulles (IAD), USA
Airline: United Airlines
Flight Distance: 7,752 km (4,186 NMI)
Flight Time: 10 Hours, 46 Minutes
Aircraft: Boeing 767-400ER
8. Honolulu (HNL) – Atlanta (ATL), USA
Airline: Delta Airlines
Flight Distance: 7,245 km (3,912 NMI)
Flight Time: 9 Hours, 30 Minutes
Aircraft: Airbus A330
9. Detroit (DTW) – Honolulu (HNL), USA
Airline: Delta Airlines
Flight Distance: 7,202 km (3,889 NMI)
Flight Time: 10 Hours, 30 Minutes
Aircraft: Airbus A330
10. Paris (CDG/ORY) – Cayenne (CAY), France
Airline: Air France, Air Caraibes
Flight Distance: 7,107 km (3,837 NMI) / 7,082 km (3,824 NMI)
Flight Time: 9 Hours, 15 Minutes (CDG) / 9 Hours, 10 Minutes (ORY)
Aircraft: Airbus A350-900, Boeing 777-200/ER
Honorable Mentions
During the spring of COVID-19, Air Tahiti Nui operated the longest domestic flight ever flown by a long shot between French Polynesia and Paris CDG. Originally, Air Tahiti Nui used to operate flights from Papeete Tahiti Faa’a International Airport to Paris CDG with a stopover at Los Angeles International Airport.
However, due to pandemic restrictions, Air Tahiti Nui and later French Bee flew the route nonstop, making it the longest domestic flight ever operated.
Papeete (PPT) – Paris (CDG), France (During COVID-19)
Airline: Air Tahiti Nui
Flight Distance: 15,715 km (8,485 NMI)
Flight Time: 16 Hours, 20 Minutes
Aircraft: Boeing 787-9
Aruba (AUA) – Amsterdam (AMS), The Netherlands
Airline: TUIfly Netherlands
Flight Distance: 7,883 km (4,256 NMI)
Flight Time: 9 Hours, 55 Minutes
Aircraft: Boeing 787-8
Curaçao (CUR) – Amsterdam (AMS), The Netherlands
Airline: KLM, TUIfly Netherlands
Flight Distance: 7,838 km (4,232 NMI)
Flight Time: 10 Hours, 15 Minutes
Aircraft: Airbus A350-900, Boeing 777-200, B787-8
Russia’s Longest Flight
Moscow (SVO) – Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky (PKC), Russia
Russia, being even longer across than the continental United States, sees some very long domestic flights. Moscow to Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky takes the crown for the longest domestic flight, covering 6,764 kilometers. Multiple other Russian routes also cover significant distances, showcasing the vastness of the Russian landscape.
Airline: Aeroflot
Flight Distance: 6,764 km (3,652 NMI)
Flight Time: 9 Hours, 10 Minutes
Aircraft: Boeing 777-300/ER
Canada’s Longest Flight
Calgary (YYC) – St. John’s (YYT), Canada
Covering a distance of 4,335 kilometres, WestJet operates Canada’s longest domestic flights, connecting the vibrant city of Calgary to the picturesque landscapes of St. John’s.
Airline: WestJet
Flight Distance: 4,335 km (2,341NMI)
Flight Time: 5 Hours, 30 Minutes
Aircraft: Boeing 737
Australia’s Longest Flight
Perth (PER) – Gold Coast (OOL), Australia
In Australia, Jetstar‘s flight, which connects the vibrant city of Perth on the west coast to the sunny shores of the Gold Coast in the east, is the longest domestic flight in the country.
Airline: Jetstar
Flight Distance: 3,626 km (1,958 NMI)
Flight Time: 4 Hours, 10 Minutes
Aircraft: Airbus A320
China’s Longest Flight
Guangzhou (CAN) – Kashi (KHG), China
Currently, the nearly six-hour flight from the city of Guanzhou to Kashi is the longest domestic flight in China.
Airline: China Southern
Flight Distance: 3,932 km (2,123 NMI)
Flight Time: 5 Hours, 50 Minutes
Aircraft: Boeing 737
Brazil’s Longest Flight
Campinas, Sao Paulo (VCP) – Boa Vista(BVB), Brazil
Azul’s flight between Campinas and Boa Vista is currently the longest domestic flight in Brazil.
Airline: Azul Airlines
Flight Distance: 3,217 km (1,737 NMI)
Flight Time: 4 Hours, 10 Minutes
Aircraft: Airbus A320
India’s Longest Flight
Delhi (DEL) – Port Blair (IXZ), India
Air India‘s flight connecting the bustling capital city of Delhi to the serene shores of Port Blair, providing a seamless connection between the mainland and the Andaman Islands is currently the longest domestic flight in India.
Airline: Air India
Flight Distance: 2,480 km (1,339 NMI)
Flight Time: 2 Hours, 30 Minutes
Aircraft: Airbus A320
Sources: GC Map
I was on the flight from Melbourne to Antartica and back to observe a total eclipse. The nonstop flight was around 14 hours nonstop on Nov. 25th 2003.
how about PAR-DZA by UU? 8199km
Canada is missing from the honorable mention. Montreal Vancouver for example is a 5.5 hour flight
ATL to HNL is 4,502 NMi per Great Circle Mapper (making it the 3rd longest domestic leg & longest USA Domestic Leg) and not the 3,912 NMi shown as 8th place in the article. I did not compare any of the other article’s stated mileage distances against the GCM database. JSYK.
Kindly note that ATL to HNL is 4,502 in miles, but not in nautical miles.
A very interesting article even allowing for the apparent technical correction concerning AMS-Dutch Caribbean flights which, with due respect to Sam, coming from a Dutchman may clearly have some foundation. Guess it’s easy to place in one “domestic basket” so much PAR-French Caribbean as well as AMS-Dutch Caribbean flights as they are commonly classified as Overseas/Utramar territories of France and Netherlands respectively.
Am curious …. perhaps my eyes are playing tricks on me but if I’m not mistaken, the flight durations on HNL-ATL and HNL-IAD are depicted/accounted in an West-East direction for some reason…. Surely in the opposite direction due to the prevailing headwinds these flights would be longer? Whatever, congrats to Sam for his always fascinating publications!
Are you sure India’s longest domestic flight is only 2.30 hrs? I had a flight from Kochi (COK) to Delhi (DEL) before that was more than 3 hrs non stop.
The longest domestics route should be the one operated by French Bee during COVID19 CDG-PTP-PPT total 10643 miles or 9246 nautical miles (according to GC Maps).
During COVID19 both Air France and French Bee also operated CDG-YVR-PPT.
Sam Chui I’m afraid that the flights between Amsterdam and the Caribbean islands are no domestic flights. Aruba and Curaçao are distinct, separate countries within the Kingdom of the Netherlands and according to IATA’s definition of a domestic flight (https://www.iata.org/contentassets/04c5400c2dcd4b05a520330672b13ef6/iata-passenger-glossary-of-terms.xlsx) these flights don’t qualify as such. Interestingly, a direct flight between Amsterdam and Bonaire could on the surface be qualified as a domestic flight because Bonaire is a Dutch special municipality rather than a country, but even Bonaire has a different ISO3166 country code (BQ), shared with St Eustatius and Saba. So according to IATA’s definition, none of these flights are domestic.
Technically speaking, the flights between Amsterdam and Aruba/Curacao are NOT domestic flights, as both islands are autonomous, self governing constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Netherlands and you will have to go through immigration upon entry, even if flying direct. Also, both are not part of the EU.