World’s Shortest Commercial Flights: Westray-Papa Westray by Loganair

One of the world’s shortest commercial flights is Loganair’s Westray and Papa Westray flight, which takes anywhere from 75 to 180 seconds, depending on wind conditions.

The record for the fastest flight is 53 seconds.

The distance between Westray Airport (WRY) and Papa Westray Airport (PPW) is slightly more than a mile, and standing at one airport, you can in fact see the other.

The distance between two airports is is 2.8 km (1.7 mi).

Tickets for Loganair’s inter-island flights are priced at about $30 per passenger with no in-flight service. 

For those who don’t want to take the shortest scheduled flight in the world, there is also a 20 minute ferry between the two islands.

Loganair is a Scottish regional airline which operates scheduled services under a Flybe franchise in mainland Scotland and Orkney, Shetland and the Western Isles.

Loganair operates one de Havilland Twin Otter and two Britten Norman Islander BN-2s, plus a handful of Saab 340 twin engine turboprops to haul passengers around the island nation. 

The route between the Orkney Islands of Westray and Papa Westray is a subsidized public service obligation. 

The Orkney Islands Council awards the route, along with several other routes throughout the islands, through a tendering process. 

The flights between Westray and Papa Westray began in 1967, establishing the record for the world’s shortest scheduled flights, and they have been continuously operated by Loganair.

According to reports published in The Daily Mail, about 30 percent of the service’s passengers are associated with the Orkney Islands Council’s education service, while many others are health staff and patients of the Scottish National Health Service.