The plane had covered a distance of about 14,200km (8,824 miles) when it touched down in Auckland in New Zealand on Wednesday.

The return flight to Dubai left at about 19.30 local time (08:30 GMT).

Both flights were around the 17 hours and 15 minutes mark, although the return could be a few minutes longer.

Qantas' Dallas-Sydney flight was believed to be the previous current longest flight, at 13,800km and clocking in at about 16 hours, 55 minutes.

The Dubai-Auckland flight duration record is not expected to hold for long, as Emirates is launching a Dubai-Panama City service later in March that will take 17 hours, 35 minutes.

Singapore Airlines used to fly Singapore-New Jersey, which took 19 hours. The firm announced in 2015 it was planning to bring back the service in 2018.

The new non-stop Emirates route between Auckland and Dubai reportedly reduces the current travel time by three hours.

The inaugural Dubai-Auckland flight was made by an A380 but the regular service will reportedly be carried out using the Boeing 777.