Qantas launches first direct flight from Australia to London

Australia's first direct flight to Britain took off Sunday from the western city of Perth, cutting flying time roughly 3 hours by skipping stopovers in Singapore or the Middle East, Qantas officials said. The 17-hour flight, operated by a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, will touch down in London at 5:05 am, having covered a distance of more than 14,484 km. It is the world's second-longest flight after a Qatar Airways service between Doha and Auckland that covers 14,529 km. About 730,000 British tourists visit Australia every year and the new service could boost interest in the state of Western Australia, often overlooked in favour of the country's east coast, said tourism minister Steven Ciobo. Qantas plans to introduce non-stop flights from Australia's east coast to Britain in the next few years. <br/>