When we think of air travel we often imagine long and interminable intercontinental routes, and it can hardly occur to us that there are scheduled flights so short that they last just a handful of minutes. We are talking about routes that connect places that are difficult to reach in other ways, almost always between two nearby islands, but still affected by a certain flow of tourists and workers. The first place for the shortest connection is a route in Scotland of 2.7 km between Westray And Pope Westray which with the right conditions can be covered in 50 seconds.
10. Brazzaville-Kinshasa
Let’s start our list with flying Brazzaville–Kinshasarespectively capital of Republic of Congo and capital of Democratic Republic of the Congo. The two capitals are separated by the river Congo and there are no direct road connections. Crossing the river is possible thanks to a ferry riverbut the travel time can take up to 3 hours.
The flight, to all intents and purposes international, covers a route of 24 kilometers (the centers of the two cities are actually much closer) and between the flight controls and the real travel time a fifty minutes.
9. Bonaire-Curaçao
Let’s move into the Caribbean Sea for the connection between Bonaire And Curacaotwo islands belonging to Villages Bass but with different statuses: Curaçao is one constituent nation of the Kingdom of the Netherlands (much like England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales are part of the United Kingdom); Bonaire, on the other hand, is one municipality specialwhich implies a closer link to the Dutch administration while maintaining a certain degree of autonomy. The two islands are connected by a direct flight of the average duration that goes twenty to twenty-five minutes.
8. Guernsey Jersey
Another extremely short flight is the one that connects the two major ones Channel Islandsalso known as Islands NormanIn the English Channel: Guernseyto the north-west, and Jerseyto the south-east, both under the British Crown. The two islands have their own parliament as well as their own cultural identity, within which French and English influences converge. They are approximately apart 30 kilometers and are connected by a flight of approx 20 minutes.
7. Karpathos-Kasos
We stay close to home with the flight that connects the two Greek islands of Karpathosin Italian Scarpanto, e Kasos (Case) in the southern Aegean. The route is approx 13 milesapproximately 20 kilometresfor a total duration of 20 minutes counting all the flight phases: take-off, taxiing, waiting and landing… traveling by plane is far faster than the ferry that connects the two islands.
6. Hoʻolehua-Kalaupapa
Let’s now go to the other side of the world for the flight between the two locations Hoʻolehua And Kalaupapaboth on the same Hawaiian island as Molokaʻi. The Kalaupapa peninsula, known above all for its historic national park (in the past it was an isolation colony for people suffering from leprosy), is isolated from the rest of the territory by colossal cliffs which rise up to 900 meters and must therefore be reached by air. The flight between the two locations takes approximately 18 minutes.
5. Indreabhán-Inis Mór
This route connects two Irish locations: Indreabhan (in English Inverin), a small Irish town in County Galway on the western coast of the country, with Inis Morthe largest of the three Aran Islands in Galway Bay. Also in this case the air journey, lasting approximately 15 minutesis significantly faster than the ferry alternative.
4. Sint Maarten-Anguilla
We return again to the tropical latitudes for the connection between two other small islands of the Caribbean: Sint Maarten (constituent nation of the Kingdom of the Netherlands) e Eel (British overseas territory). Technically we are still faced with an international flight, lasting approximately 10 minutes. The island of Sint Maarten is connected to numerous other nearby islands, such as the island of Sheba (always in the Dutch Caribbean) with flights whose duration often does not exceed an hour.
3. Saipan-Tinian
Let’s change the ocean and move fully Pacificwith the flight Saipan-Tinian. Saipan is an island located approximately halfway between the Japan and the New Guinea and it is part of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islandsan autonomously administered archipelago, but de facto US territory. Tinian it is still part of the same Commonwealth and is located immediately south of Saipan. At their closest point the two islands are apart less than 6 kilometersand the flight between the two airports is approx 10-15 minutes.
2. Caye Caulker-Caye Chapel
The two islands of Caye Caulker And Caye Chapel in Belize (Independent state of Central and South America) are connected by a flight of 9 minutes. Caye Chapel is a small private island renowned for its luxury tourism, exclusive resorts, villas and prestigious 18-hole golf course.
1. Westray-Papa Westray
The route between Westray And Pope Westray in the archipelago of Islands Orkney in Scotland it is considered the shortest scheduled flight in the world. The airports connecting the two islands are just 2.7km and the flight, depending on the wind conditions, has a duration ranging from 2 minutes to less than 50 seconds. The route is flown by small aircraft of the Loganair company every day of the week.
