The first Qantas Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner assigned to bring back Australian nationals fleeing conflict in Lebanon has safely returned to Sydney Airport (SYN).
The Australian nationals were collected from Larnaca Airport (LAN) in Cyprus after travelling via the island from Lebanon with assistance from the government.
Qantas flight ASY1258 departed Larnaca shortly before 20:20 local time on October 7, 2024, and touched down in Sydney almost 16 and half hours later at 20:48 on October 8, 2024.
According to Qantas, 220 passengers were safely brough to Australia on the Dreamliner, registered VH-ZNC, along with four pilots and 10 cabin crew and a special dedicated team of ground personnel, medical personnel and engineers.
The 15,890 km flight exceeded the distance of Qantas’ Perth to London service, which is the longest on its network. The marathon journey also included an 18-hour flight from Sydney to Larnaca.
A second flight, ASY1270, is expected to depart Larnaca on October 9, 2024, during the evening and arrive back in Australia late on October 10, 2024.
Around 15,000 Australians had been living in Lebanon until the Australian government began urging them to leave in recent weeks.
The need for Australian nationals to leave Lebanon became more urgent after Israeli forces entered southern Lebanon in its fight against Hezbollah.