Around the World Flights

Over time many people have taken various ballooning challenges, but perhaps the most challenging is the around the world hot air balloon flight. To this day there has only been two successful attempts at an around the world balloon flight.

FIRST RECORDED AROUND THE WORLD FLIGHT

The first recorded around the world hot air balloon flight was achieved in 1999 when Swiss Betrand Piccard and British Brian Jones teamed up and broke the record. They launched on Monday, March 1st from Chateau d'Oex in the Swiss Alps and after 19 days, 21 hours and 55 minutes, successfully landed over Mauritania in North Africa. They became the first balloonists to circumnavigate the globe with a non-stop, non-refueled flight, having travelled a ground breaking distance of 42,810 KM.

FIRST SOLO AROUND THE WORLD FLIGHT

Steve Fossett became the first balloonist to travel round the world in a hot air balloon on a solo flight. Having tried a previous 6 times, this was a great achievement for him when he landed on Tuesday 2nd July 2002, becoming the first and still only person to have managed to travel around the world solo in a hot air balloon.