A non-stop flight from London to Sydney is coming – can you handle it?

“The tyranny of distance has finally been defeated,” the chief executive of Australian airline Qantas said on stage at Airbus headquarters in Toulouse.

Vanessa Hudson was in the French city last week to announce the world’s first 20-hour flight.

The airline first flew what it called the Kangaroo route between London and Sydney in 1947. At the time, it was a seven-stop, four-day odyssey.

Those stops have been gradually reduced, with Qantas now only stopping once en route in Singapore.

But 80 years after that 1940s venture, the first non-stop flight between the two cities will begin in October 2027.

Using specially designed ultra-long-haul Airbus aircraft, Qantas expects to shave four hours off current journey times. It is expected to last around 22 hours.

The much-anticipated — and delayed — breakthrough comes after some of the busiest years in the airline’s history, with senior customers banking on premium but marathon flights.

“We’re really confident this will be successful,” Hudson told the BBC.

Some analysts say it is a milestone in aviation history. But is it really what people want?