Coming up in this guide: the world’s shortest passenger flight, lots of basic facilities, just eight passengers, two Scottish islands, some stuff you probably didn’t know about the Orkneys, and a very little plane ride.
Because you’ve clicked on an article called ‘the shortest flight in the world is in Scotland,’ you probably already know the shortest flight in the world is in Scotland.
(if you somehow *didn’t* already know that, I’m sorry for the spoiler).
But that leaves us with lots of questions: where is the flight? What exactly *is* the short distance? Why would anyone want to take a flight so speedy? What’s it actually like? And just how tiny is the airplane?
Coming up, all that and more: here’s everything you need to know about the shortest flight on the planet!
(spoiler alert: it’ll probably take you longer to read this section than it would to *actually* sit through the entire flight)
What is The Shortest Flight in the World?
The shortest commercial flight in the world is between Westray and Papa Westray, two small islands in Scotland’s Orkney Islands. This quick hop, operated by Loganair, is just 1.7 miles long and can take as little as 53 seconds in good weather. Usually though, the scheduled flight time is around 2 minutes from start to finish.
Locals like teachers, doctors, and island residents use this tiny route regularly. It also attracts aviation fans who want to check out the world’s shortest flight for themselves.
The Orkney Islands sit around 10 miles (16 km) from mainland Scotland, and just northeast from the most northeastern part of the Scottish mainland.
The Scottish Orkney Islands consist of around 70 islands… and around 20 of them are inhabited.
… and the world’s shortest flight is between two of these islands.
The propellor-powered flight runs from Westray to Papa Westray. Westray and Papa Westray sit only 1.7 miles (2.7 kilometers) from one another.
The Westray to Papa Westray flight is operated by Loganair (and only by Loganair), and lasts around a minute*.
*No, you didn’t read that wrong. Although the flights are scheduled for around 90 seconds, they usually clock in at closer to 60. One time, the plane made the journey in 53 seconds. Weird!
The shortest flight in the world: the experience
The whole process is pretty swift:
(and is pretty similar, no matter which direction you’re flying in).
Once you’ve booked your ticket online on the LoganAir website, you arrive at the airport around 15 minutes before your flight. Someone takes your baggage (yep, that person, as you probably guessed, isn’t a full-time baggage handler), and you step onto the plane.
You don’t get a boarding pass, you don’t get designated seats, and you don’t need to wait in any annoying long queues. There’s no security gate, and no one looks through your bag or asks you to take off your belt and shoes. And because it’s a domestic flight, you don’t even need to show a passport. Easy!
The flight is powered by two propellers, the plane is around the size of a campervan, and there is (obviously) no toilet on board.
Yep, you get a safety briefing. It’s delivered swiftly and over the shoulder from the pilot, and it only takes a few seconds.
And get this: when you land at Papa Westray, you’ll see the airport’s fire crew…who are really just a pair of farmer brothers who drop by to help, a few minutes before each flight is due to land.
Obviously, because of its weirdness, this flight is a bit of a cult journey among tourists and aviation enthusiasts; and among those aviation enthusiasts, it’s one of the world’s most famous journeys.
Frequently Asked Questions About the World’s Shortest Commercial Flight
Q: Does the flight run in both directions?
A: Yes. The return flight is as regular as the outward flight.
Q: How long has the flight been running?
A: Since 1967. It’s always been operated by Loganair, and it’ll probably always be operated by Loganair. Loganair is a Scottish airline and the team specialize in flying people to some of the nation’s most remote islands.
Q: Why does this flight actually even exist?
A: Well, it’s a form of public transport, obviously. Yep, for people like me and you (who don’t live on the Orkneys), it seems like a bit of a gimmick. But locals need to get around the Orkneys—so if a local needs to hop between Westray and Papa Westray, this is the quickest way.
Q: Who usually takes these flights?
A: According to my research, the most frequent passengers are students and teachers from Westray, who use the flight to visit the 50+ archaeological sites on Papa Westray. Some Westray medical professionals use the flights to offer care to the residents of Papa Westray, while some Papa Westray residents fly in the other direction to get medical care on Westray. Oh, and some people use the flights just to visit family and friends.
Q: How many seats are on the aircraft?
A: Only 10. And only 8 of them are for passengers. One seat is for the pilot, and the one seat beside the pilot stays empty. I don’t know why the empty seat stays empty.
Q: What exactly are the airports like?
A: Small. As you might have guessed, both Westray Airport and Papa Westray Airport are TINY. Like little houses. Imagine walking into a tiny cottage, having your bag collected from you, then walking out of the other side of the cottage and into a plane. Congratulations: you’ve now imagined flying through both Westray Airport and Papa Westray Airport.
Q: What’s this thing I’ve heard about certificates?
A: When you get to the Loganair Inter-Island desk at Kirkwall Airport (after your flights between Westray and Papa Westray), you can ask for a certificate. It says you’ve flown in the world’s shortest flight, in case you ever need proof.
Q: How much does this short flight cost?
A: At the time of writing, you can get your greasy little hands on a ticket for only £17 (that’s equivalent to around $21.50USD). You get your tickets at the official Loganair website.
Q: Okay, I want to take the flight. How do I get to the Orkney Islands?
A: Well, as you now know, the Orkneys aren’t on the Scottish mainland. Usually, the best way is to fly. You can fly directly to Kirkwall (that’s the island’s capital) from Inverness, Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh, Glasgow, and even the Shetland islands. Or to tackle the trip by boat, you can take direct ferries from Aberdeen, Scrabster, the Shetland Islands, and Gills Bay (relatively close to John O’Groats).
Q: And how do I get from Kirkwall to Westray?
A:The easiest option is to fly from Kirkwall to Westray. Especially given all the Westray to Papa Westray flights actually originate in Kirkwall.
Q: Is the flight number always the same?
A:No, it changes depending on which day you fly, and in which direction you fly. The Wikipedia page explores the exact stats, so I won’t bore you with them here.
Q: What views do you get?
A: You’ll see farmland, little hills, lots of green, lots of sea, a load of cliffs and colors, and the entirety of whichever island you’re flying to. Here’s a video of the full flight.
Q: Wouldn’t it be easier/faster to take a ferry?
A: The Orkney Islands are home to many ferries—and as you can see here, ferries sail between Westray and Papa Westray multiple times a day (on most days). Ferries have to be booked 24 hours in advance, the journey lasts 25 minutes, and a ticket costs only £2.95 for adults. The Westray ferry port is called ‘Pierowall.’ Taking the ferry is convenient, and flying is convenient. But because the airport process isn’t the same as you get in a ‘normal’ airport, you don’t need to be at the airport 2 hours in advance. So although both options are good, taking a flight is vaguely faster.
Q: Is the flight safe and reliable? And how does the weather affect it?
A: In the words of Loganair’s chief executive, the craft is “well suited to the vagaries of Scottish weather”. And as far as I can tell, there have never been any accidents or major problems along the route.
Q: Do Loganair operate and offer other flights?
A: Yep, Loganair are very popular—as they say on their website, they “fly to more UK destinations than any other airline.” They serve big UK airports (like Manchester, Newcastle, and London Heathrow) along with many small island destinations (like Islay, the Isle of Man, and Tiree). Loganair even serve some non-UK destinations, in Denmark and Norway.
Q: Does the flight run every day?
A: No, not quite. On Saturdays, you can only fly from Westray to Papa Westray. On Sundays, you can only fly from Papa Westray to Westray. Every other day of the week, you can fly in both directions. You usually get more than one flight per day.
Q: Can I fly from Westray to anywhere else?
A: The only direct flights you can take from Westray are to Kirkwall and Papa Westray.
Q: Can I fly from Papa Westray to anywhere else?
A: The only direct flights you can take from Papa Westray are to Kirkwall, North Ronaldsay, and Westray.
Q: Are there any other weird short flights around the world?
A: Our strange little planet is home to 4 other flights that measure in at around 10 minutes or less. They are:
- The 5-minute Belize flight from Caye Caulker Island to San Pedro city
- The 5-minute Greek flight between the two islands of Karpathos and Kasos
- The 10-minute Irish flight from mainland Connemara to the island of Inishmore
- The 10-minute flight from the country of Sint Maarten to the British Overseas Territory of Anguilla
Before You Go
Alright, now you know: the planet’s shortest flight is in Scotland, and runs from one of the Orkney Islands to the other.
Like I said, I haven’t been on the flight myself. But I want to.
And if you like weird travel experiences, I reckon you’ll probably want to too.
(When you’ll hop on the flight, tell them Travelness.com sent you 😉)
For more weird Scottish adventures, fly on over to our guides on the secret pyramid in Scotland, and the nation’s 12 mysterious Harry Potter locations.
… and for more travel-based facts and figures, here are the 20 most-visited cities in the world, and the 10 most-visited countries in the world.
