good-to-know
Faster, further, higher – records in aviation
Our love affair with flying is always pushing aviation to break new records.
11.2022 | author: Thorsten Rienth | 4 mins reading time
author:
Thorsten Rienth
writes as a freelance journalist for AEROREPORT. In addition to the aerospace industry, his technical writing focuses on rail traffic and the transportation industry.
The first aviation record was set on December 17, 1903, the day of the world’s first powered flight with a human on board: on the outskirts of the small town of Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, the Wright Flyer remained airborne for 59 seconds and covered a distance of approximately 260 meters before touching down again. That was the day when humanity’s dream of flying became a reality. Since then, aviation has set numerous new records and continues to break them: the largest terminal building, the longest route, the most powerful engine or the tallest airport control tower—to name but a few.
1. The world’s longest commercial runway
Where is the world's longest runway used for commercial flights?
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WRONG!
Measuring 5,500 meters in length, the world’s longest commercial runway is located at Qamdo-Bamda Airport, which is 4,334 meters above sea level in the Tibet Autonomous Region. The record for the longest military runway—11,920 meters—is held by Edwards Air Force Base runway 17/35 on Rogers Dry Lake in California.
2. The tallest airport control tower
Where is the tallest airport control tower?
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WRONG!
Air traffic controllers have to make the right call under extreme conditions. To do so, they require the best overview of the entire airport site. Depending how an airport is laid out, its control tower might have to stretch far up into the heavens. The tallest example is with 136 meters at King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddha, Saudi Arabia. The tower relegates those at Kuala Lumpur (133 meters) and Bangkok (132 meters) to second and third place.
3. The longest non-stop route
On which route is the current longest non-stop flight offered?
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The longest non-stop scheduled flight is currently between Singapore and New York. On this 15,349-kilometer route, an Airbus A350-900ULH operated by Singapore Airlines will spend up to 18.5 hours in the air, depending on wind conditions. But it looks like it’s only a matter of time before this record will be broken: Australia’s Qantas Airways has already tested a direct connection of approximately 17,700 kilometers between London and Sydney and had planned to begin offering this route in 2022. However, the coronavirus pandemic caused the airline to delay.
4. The largest airport by size
Which airport is the world’s biggest by size?
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WRONG!
King Fahd International Airport in Dammam, Saudi Arabia is the world's biggest airport by size. The airport building sits on 36.8 square kilometers of land - however, the entire airport site covers an impressive 776 square kilometers. But no other departures and arrivals hall can compete with the 700,000 m2 terminal at the Beijing Daxing International Airport. Once the final expansion stage is complete, which is scheduled to happen in 2040, the airport will be able to handle up to 130 million passengers a year.
5. The largest and most powerful commercial engine
What is the largest and most powerful commercial engine of the world?
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WRONG!
With a fan diameter of a whopping 3.40 meters, GE Aviation’s GE9X is the largest commercial engine currently in production. Successor to the GE90-115B, the GE9X will be the powerplant for the new Boeing 777X long-haul aircraft. And there’s no end to the superlatives: the GE9X is also the world’s most powerful commercial engine. On the test stand, it achieves 134,300 pounds of thrust—the previous record of 127,900 pounds was held by the GE90-115B. In 2019, the GE9X even earned its place in the Guinness World Records as the most powerful commercial engine.
6. The largest still flying airplane in the world
What is the largest still flying airplane in the world?
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The Airbus A380-800 is not only the largest passenger aircraft in the world, but also the largest aircraft still flying. It is an impressive 72.3 meters long, has a wingspan of almost 80 meters and a maximum take-off weight of approximately 590 tons. The A380 inherited the Antonov An-225 cargo plane developed and built in the Soviet Union, the last remaining flying example of which was destroyed in its hangar during the Ukraine war in 2022.
7. The busiest airport
Which airport did the most passengers land and take off in 2021?
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WRONG!
The coronavirus pandemic sent global air traffic into chaos, reshuffling the ranking of the busiest airports in the process. According to Airports Council International (ACI), old favorite Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport regained the top spot in 2021. But the number of passengers that passed through the airport that year—75.7 million—is still nowhere near the 110.5 million it saw in the record year 2019. In 2020, Guangzhou Bai Yun International Airport briefly stole the top spot by handling 43.8 million passengers.
8. The most punctual airline
Which airline was most punctual in 2021?
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Once a year, aviation data specialist Cirium calculates the punctuality of airlines throughout the world. A flight is deemed to have arrived on time if it reaches the gate within 15 minutes of the scheduled time. In 2021, first place went to Japan’s All Nippon Airways with a punctuality score of 95.04 percent, closely followed by Japan Airlines with 94.13 percent. In Europe, the top two spots are occupied by Spanish airlines: Vueling Airlines with 92.13 percent and Iberia Express with 91.81 percent.
9. The most expensive airplane in the world
What is the most expensive airplane of the world?
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WRONG!
If development costs are added, the U.S. Air Force's Northrop B-2, also called “stealth bomber”, produced from 1988 to 1997, cost 1.9 billion euros. Its shape makes it virtually invisible to radar. No other aircraft comes close to it in terms of price. For example, the world's most expensive jet, the U.S. president's Boeing 747 (Air Force One), cost "only" 650 million euros. The modified Airbus A380 of Saudi Prince Al Waleed Bin Talal al-Saud cost 590 million euros.
