What it's like to fly on the shortest commercial flight in the world, which lasts just 57 seconds (2024)

FAQs

What is the shortest commercial flight in the world lasts 57 seconds? ›

Did you know that the shortest commercial flight in the world lasts just 57 seconds? It connects the two Orkney Islands, Westray and Papa Westray, in Scotland.

The Loganair Westray to Papa Westray route is the shortest scheduled passenger flight in the world. Flights on the route are scheduled for one and a half minutes, and actual flying time is closer to one minute. The record for the fastest flight is 53 seconds.

The shortest flight in the world is a long-established air route between two of the Orkney Islands (Westray and Papa Westray) in Scotland. The distance is a mere 1.7 miles and with favorable winds, the actual flight often lasts less than a minute!

The world's shortest commercial flight covers a distance of only 1.7 miles and takes a mere two minutes in total. Not only that, but the flight uses one of the world's smallest planes—a six-seater Britten-Norman Islander aircraft—which makes it even more unique and special.

The world's shortest commercial air route is the connection between the Scottish islands of Westray and Papa Westray in the Orkney Islands, operated by Loganair. The flight distance is about 2.8 km (1.7 miles) and the flight duration is approximately 2 minutes.

1. The World's Longest Flight: New York (JFK) to Singapore Changi (SIN) New York John F Kennedy Airport – Singapore Changi is currently the longest commercial flight it is possible to book. At 15,332km, this route has been at the top of the table since 2021, and takes an average of 18 hours and 40 minutes to complete.

Also known as the Queen of the Skies, the 747 boasts a maximum fuel capacity of 63,000 gallons with slight variations between models. With today's fuel prices, it costs about $450,000 to fill up a Boeing 747, depending on your market.

The Guinness Book of World Records gives the Concorde jet the overall record for the fastest transatlantic flight in a commercial aircraft. On Feb. 7, 1996, Concorde operated by British Airways flew from New York to London's Heathrow in 2 hours, 52 minutes and 59 seconds. It had an average speed of 1,250 mph.

The shortest commercially scheduled flight would be Seattle to Victoria, Canada at 98 mi. In terms of flying time, however, this route is close to the Seattle to Vancouver flying time. Both are around 24-35 minutes in length.

Records. The fastest time for an airliner on the route is 2 hours 52 minutes and 59 seconds, this was achieved on an eastbound JFK-LHR Concorde service on 7 February 1996. The current fastest subsonic passenger service on the route was achieved by British Airways on 9 February 2020 with a time of 4 hours 56 minutes.

How long would it take a commercial plane to fly around the Earth? ›

Of course, that assumes the airplane doesn't have to stop to refuel, etc. So 45 hours is the approximate flight time to travel around the world.

What is the fastest jet that is commercially available? The fastest private passenger jet would be the Cessna Citation X+, capable of Mach 0.935 or about 717 miles per hour. The fastest commercial passenger jet would be the Boeing 747–8i (i=International), clocking out at Mach 0.855 or 655 miles per hour.

Aeroplanes, or airplanes if you're American, need to maintain a certain speed to allow flight. Technically this is the so-called 'stall speed', where air passes over the wings fast enough to sustain altitude, and for small planes this can be less than 50km/h (31mph).

The world's shortest commercial flight takes place between the two Orkney Islands, Westray and Papa Westray, just north of Scotland, separated by a distance of only 1.7 miles.

The Tapanee Pegazair-100 stall speed is 45 kilometres per hour (28 mph).

At just 62 miles (100 km), the world's shortest 777 route is British Airways between Antigua and St Kitts and Nevis. Operating on Wednesdays and Saturdays, the 777-200ER's complete schedule is as follows: Gatwick-Antigua: BA2157, 10:00-13:35 (8h 35m block time) Antigua-St Kitts: BA2157, 14:35-15:20 (45 minutes)

Currently, the world's longest flight is the 9,585-mile route between New York City and Singapore, operated by Singapore Airlines with a flying time of 18.5 hours.