Be there in a minute: Vlogger documents world’s shortest passenger flight
Tiny plane has made Scottish ‘voyage’ in as little as 53 seconds
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.A travel vlogger has documented his trip on the world’s shortest - and technically most expensive - flight in one single video clocking in at one minute and 14 seconds.
Noel Philips, 41, shot the video flying between the islands of Papa Westray and Westray in the Scottish archipelago of Orkney - which is just 1.7 miles (2.7 kilometres).
But it doesn’t come cheap and is dubbed one of the most expensive flights in the world due to its short distance and price tag of £17.
Drawing criticism from some for being unnecessary to fly such a short distance, the alternative is a 20-minute boat ride through choppy waters.
The route acts as a connecting flight to Kirkwall that helps locals to get to the more populous places in Orkney. It operates in a triangle formation, from Papa Westray to Westray and then the Kirkwall.
The local council has suggested that a bridge be built to connect the two islands, but nothing has been authorised so far.
For the time being, the plane is still regularly used by locals and tourists alike.
Noel, from Mansfield, Derbyshire, said: “I travelled to the Orkney Islands to fly on the world’s shortest passenger flight, which runs between the Orkney islands of Westray and Papa Westray.
“When I got to Westray, I stayed there overnight to explore, and flew back to Kirkwall the following morning, once again taking the world’s shortest flight along the way.
“I love flying on little flights like this and travelling around some of the world’s most remote communities.
“Scotland has so many of these tiny flights connecting the remote communities in the islands, and living in the UK it’s so easy to travel to.
“The planes that serve these islands are quite small, they’re like getting onboard a minibus!
“You can’t take any hand baggage onboard, it all has to go in the boot when you get onboard.
“It’s very popular with tourists and aviation enthusiasts.
“On my flights were several people who were staying on the islands and just wanted to experience the world’s shortest flight.
“But it’s also relied upon for locals to be able to connect with Kirkwall and be able to leave or return to the islands.”
Mr Philips is no stranger to the world of transport and has travelled on some of the planet’s more obscure flights, trains and transport links.
He has travelled across the globe and reviewed the likes of the world’s “longest”, “worst” and most “dangerous” flights.
“I’ve been a full-time travel vlogger for three years now.
“Before this, I worked as an IT consultant and did YouTube as my side hobby.
“I’ve been an aviation enthusiast since a very young age, and I started sharing my passion with others via YouTube in 2013.
“I was fortunate enough to be able to take it full time in 2019 when my channel grew to such a size that it was taking up more of my time than my full-time job!
“Since then I’ve travelled around the world and made videos on every continent - apart from Antarctica!
“I consider myself very lucky to have what I think is the best job in the world - travelling around the world flying on unique airlines and pursuing my passion, then coming home to spend months at home with my family.
“I still have more countries to visit and more airlines to fly.
“Every time I think I’ve ‘done it all,’ I find another experience that goes on the list.”
The flight can carry up to nine passengers and operates twice a day with Loganair, which describes the flight as being 90 seconds long.
It gets people across the water in close to one minute, with the record being 53 seconds.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments