Around the World Flights

To this day there have only been two successful attempts at an around the world balloon flight - one solo and one with two pilots on board.

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 March 1st from the Swiss Alps. After 19 days, 21 hours and 55 minutes they successfully landed in in North Africa. They became the first balloonists to circumnavigate the globe with a non-stop, non-refueled flight. They travelled a sky breaking distance of 42,810 KM.

Fisrt 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. 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. He had tried 6 times before!