shortest commercial flight in Papa Westray
Papa Westray in Orkney, Scotland offers the world shortest commercial flight. Photo credit: Logan Air

When flying it can often feel like forever when you have finally reached your destination. From boarding the flight and then sometimes the time-consuming wait until you finally touch down at your chosen destination.

One of the world’s shortest commercial flights was launched by Emirates in 2019 from Dubai to Muscat in Oman. The flight only took 40 minutes. But what happens if your flight was even shorter? Did you know some flights only take 2 minutes?

We take a look at the top 5 world’s shortest commercial flights.

5. Brazzaville and Kinshasa, Africa

Africa offers one of the shortest commercial flights.
Brazzaville airport in Africa offers one of the shortest commercial flights. Photo credit: Republic of Congo

Flight time: 30 minutes

Fifth on our list of the shortest commercial flights in the world is in Africa. The distance between Brazzaville airport in the Republic of Congo and Kinshasa airport in the Democratic Republic of Congo is only 16 miles long. Flights operated from Brazzaville to Kinshasa are operated 3 times a week with one flight per day.

4. Minami-Daito and Kita-Daito, Japan

Okinawa has one of the world's shortest commercial flights
The Japanese island has flights that are only 20 minutes. Photo credit: NASA JOHNSON SPACE CENTER [PUBLIC DOMAIN]/ WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

Flight time: 20 minutes

Fourth on our list is the Japanese island of Okinawa which is actually made up of 160 smaller islands. These islands are referred to as the ‘Hawaii of Japan’. Two of these islands are Minami-Daito and Kita-Daito which are only 8 miles apart and you can fly from one to the other in less than 20 minutes!

3. St. Maarten and St. Barts, Caribbean

shortest commercial flights in the Caribbean
St Maarten in the Caribbean offers flights to St Barts which only last 15 minutes. Photo credit: LEONARD ZHUKOVSKY/SHUTTERSTOCK

Flight time: 15 minutes

Fancy a trip to the Caribbean where it only takes 15 minutes to get from one island to another? You’re in luck! If you are on holiday in the Caribbean, you can take a short flight from St Maarten to St Barts which only takes 15 minutes. There is also the chance to sail on a ferry to the island of St Barts, which takes a bit longer but offers some fantastic views of the ocean.

2. Connemara to Inis Meáin, Ireland

One of the world's shortest commercial flights in Ireland
Connemara in Ireland offers a flight to Inis Mor in less than 10 minutes. Photo credit: Jan Miko

Flight time: less than 10 minutes

Ireland offers beautiful and breathtaking landscapes and Inis Meáin is no exception. Inis Meáin is based in the Aran Islands near Galway Bay. A flight from Connemara in Inverin to Inis Meáin – the largest of the Aran Islands – takes around 10 minutes. In good weather conditions, this can be less. Each passenger boarding the eight-seat plane to Inis Meáin has to be individually weighed before they board in order to equally distribute the weight of the small aircraft.

1. Westray and Papa Westray, Scotland

 

The flight route from Westray to Papa Westray is the shortest commercial flight in the world.
Orkney in Scotland has the shortest flight in the world. Photo credit: Aerotime

Flight time: 2 minutes

At number one, we have a narrow stretch of water which separates the Orkney islands of Westray and Papa Westray.

The flight, operated by LoganAir has been in use for over 50 years and only takes 2 minutes which makes it the shortest flight in the world. In good weather conditions, you can reach Papa Westray in 47 seconds!

The route is mainly used by island residents and tourists.

Did you know any of these short flights existed? Or have you been on any of these flights yourself? Let us know in the comments below!

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