How to survive a non-stop 19-hour flight

Over the weekend, the Australian airline Qantas carried out its first non-stop experimental flight from New York to Sydney in 19 hours and 16 minutes, with what could become the longest route taken by scheduled flights in the future, without stops. technicians. Qantas would like to activate the new route by 2022, offering a faster and more convenient solution for those wishing to reach Australia on the east coast of the United States; another route will also be tested between London and Sydney.

The Boeing Dreamliner departed from New York covered a distance of 16,200 kilometers, transporting about 40 crew members, journalists and some guests, who acted as guinea pigs for the experiment. On board there was also the journalist Angus Whitley of Bloomberg, who recounted his experience with a brief travelogue.

The experimental Qantas flight started at around 9pm on Friday 18 October (3am on 19 October in Italy) from New York's JFK international airport. Just after the departure, the crew invited the participants not to go to sleep for at least six hours, so as to adapt as quickly as possible to the 15 hours difference between New York and Sydney. The lights in the cabin were left on and remained so until it started in the evening in Australia, causing some problems for some passengers, accustomed to going to sleep as soon as the plane takes off.

In addition to journalists and some of his technicians, Qantas also brought clients who often fly with the company on board, in order to verify the effects of such a long flight on those who are already used to staying on a plane for several hours. Each volunteer was given a kit containing a bracelet, to be worn to detect light movements and hours. Adhering to the initiative, the volunteers agreed to be monitored even in the three weeks after the flight: their data will be used by Qantas experts to assess the impact of such a long crossing in the medium term.

After two hours of flight, and not a little effort to stay awake, the crew served dinner with particularly spicy dishes, such as blanched prawns accompanied by a spicy sauce and spicy oriental cod. The idea of ​​providing a meal that awakened the senses was intended to help passengers stay awake, without weighing them down for the next four hours recommended for waking, before going to sleep.

At the third flight hour, several participants started walking around the Business Class area where they were staying, then moving to the completely empty Economy class (the flight was for a few dozen people, all hosted in the Business). The real "guinea pigs" of Qantas had to compile a diary by periodically noting their feelings and mood, and they had to use some tablets to indicate how tired they felt and to perform cognitive tests of various types.

After four hours, the affectionate passengers of Qantas were invited to reach the rear of the airplane to do some gymnastics among seats, lockers and corridors. They followed the directions of Marie Carroll, a professor at the University of Sydney and responsible for the "guinea pigs" during the experimental flight. Physical activity, always recommended to those who embark on transcontinental flights, helps to keep the metabolism active and reduces the risk of occlusions (thrombi) in the blood vessels that can hinder or completely prevent normal blood circulation in part of the body.

At the seventh hour, the crew served a second meal this time rich in carbohydrates and then thought to ease the sleep of passengers, however already drowsy: having left at 21, after seven hours for them it was as if they were 4 in the morning. Once the meal was over, the lights in the cabin were reduced, eventually allowing passengers to rest for a few hours. Accompanied by the accumulated fatigue, Whitley said he slept for six hours without problems.

Upon awakening – around the fourteenth hour – Whitley did some do-it-yourself medical checkup using tools and tips received on the ground by an air travel medicine expert. The reporter from Bloomberg he detected the pressure and heartbeat, without finding anomalies, and then performed some tests on his own to evaluate his cognitive abilities.

Three hours later a rather light breakfast was served, with fruit and grains. The passengers have all slowly awakened: some have rested for more than eight hours and have said they are ready for a normal day in Sydney.

After 19 hours and 16 minutes, the experimental Qantas flight landed regularly in Sydney, completing the first experiment of such a long flight for a commercial flight. Whitley wrote that he traveled well and preferred to fly in one solution to what he plans to stop in Los Angeles, with the complexities of changing planes and the anxiety of finding a connection with the next flight.

The flight was part of Project Sunrise, the project that Qantas is carrying out to test long scheduled flights to Sydney from New York to the United States and from London to Europe. The first experiment yielded promising results, but it is still early to activate the new route. Qantas will be able to manage it only after having purchased from Boeing or Airbus, the two largest aircraft manufacturers in the world, aircraft capable of flying for almost 21 hours carrying hundreds of passengers, their luggage and supplies for meals. The experimental flight was made possible by the use of a lightweight Boeing Dreamliner, with very little luggage and just 40 people on board, so that it could travel at full fuel load.

Currently, the scheduled flight that covers a greater distance is Singapore – Newark (New Jersey, United States), operating since October last year and covering a distance of more than 15,300 kilometers non-stop, taking just under 18 hours.