Kangaroo Route celebrates 60th

Qantas has celebrated the 60th anniversary of the legendary Kangaroo Route, the air connection between Australia and the UK.

The flag-carrying airline's inaugural service between the land down under and the UK departed Sydney on December 1st 1947, bound for London.

Owing to the limited range of the aircraft in operation 60 years ago, it was an ambitious and convoluted journey, which lasted a total of 93 hours, 55 of which were spent in the air.

The Qantas plane flew from Sydney to Darwin before heading to Singapore and from there made stops in Calcutta, Karachi, Cairo and Tripoli before touching down in London.

Airline chief executive Geoff Dixon said that this occasion heralded a new era in transportation between Australia and the UK.

"The Kangaroo Route helped seal Qantas' reputation as a leader in long distance international air travel," he said.

"While changes in air travel over the last 60 years have been spectacular, this particular route has always had an iconic status for us - and for the broader aviation industry."