Qantas is making aviation history on Saturday with the first test of the world's longest flight from New York to Sydney.
Fifty passengers are on board the non-stop flight, which will take 19 and a half hours. Scientists and medical experts will monitor sleep patterns, food and beverage consumption, lighting, physical movement and inflight entertainment usage to assess the impact on health, wellbeing and their body clock.
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They all underwent training before being approved as "guinea pigs" for the test. The pilots are also being monitored with equipment checking their brain waves.
Qantas CEO Alan Joyce said earlier this year that the flights are the perfect opportunity for researchers to collect real-time data.
"For customers, the key will be minimising jet lag and creating an environment where they are looking forward to a restful, enjoyable flight. For crew, it's about using scientific research to determine the best opportunities to promote alertness when they are on duty and maximise rest during their downtime on these flights," he said.
"Flying non-stop from the East Coast of Australia to London and New York is truly the final frontier in aviation, so we're determined to do all the groundwork to get this right."
The data collected will also be shared with the Civil Aviation Safety Authority to help in designing regulations for ultra-long-haul flights.
Qantas hopes to be operating this route from 2023.
The longest flight currently in operation is Singapore to Newick at 18 hours and 45 minutes.
Newshub.