Qantas CEO says Project Sunrise flights to start in 2027

TOULOUSE, France (Reuters) -Australia's Qantas will start Project Sunrise ultra-long-haul flights in early 2027 after receiving the first of 12 dedicated Airbus A350-1000 aircraft at the end of next year, Chief Executive Vanessa Hudson said on Tuesday.

Deliveries of the first of 12 long-haul A350-1000 jets designed for record-breaking non-stop flights have been delayed after Europe's regulator asked Airbus to redesign a fuel tank.

Qantas will have to carry out local certification flights and further trials to make sure crew become familiar with the jet, Hudson said.

"We will need three aircraft to be able to have a daily service, either from Sydney to New York or Sydney to London. Then as the other aircraft come on, we'll be able to fill out the network," Hudson said, without naming other routes.

The Qantas boss also told reporters on the sidelines of an Airbus sustainability event that Friday's fire and closure of London's Heathrow airport had forced the carrier to divert two flights to Paris and then bus passengers to London.

Asked about reports that a group representing airlines operating at Heathrow was weighing legal action, Hudson said: "It's not something that we have considered, but I would say that these events are incredibly costly to airlines."

Heathrow on Monday defended its decision to shut down operations at Europe's busiest airport as the blame game intensified over an 18-hour closure which cost airlines tens of millions of pounds and stranded thousands of passengers.

(Reporting by Tim Hepher; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)

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