Emirates defers launch of world’s longest flight to Panama

The world’s longest commercial flight will take a little longer to get off the ground after Emirates confirmed it will defer the launch of its Panama City service until March 31.

Emirates said the delay in the service, originally set for February 1, is in order “to fully receive all regulatory codeshare approvals from the wider Central and Latin America region”.

The marathon flight will take 17 hours and 35 minutes from Dubai.

It is an unfortunate hitch. Last month Emirates announced passengers could connect to 25 cities across the Caribbean, central and South America on Star Alliance member Copa Airlines and released a range of offers to 12 cities for travel between February and March 23.

Emirates’ senior executives hosted a high level delegation from a number of Central and Latin American countries on an official visit to EGHQ in Dubai in December, implying the route had the consent of surrounding countries.

An Emirates spokesperson said it “firmly believes in the potential of the route” and looks forward to offering passengers non-stop flights and “seamless connections to Panama and beyond”.