# Shortest Commercially Available Flight? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 1, 2014, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shortest-commercially-available-flight/687442 "2014-05-01T15:11:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![DChord568](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@DChord568](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DChord568)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2014, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shortest-commercially-available-flight/687442/21 "2014-05-01T18:35:23Z")
> [@Duckster](#): > > Ran a generic flight search for OAK-SFO on [this flight search engine](http://matrix.itasoftware.com/cvg/dispatch/prego). Al flights require one stop, often through PDX (Portland, Oregon). > > So the most direct flight between the two cities on the Bay go through Oregon. I found something similar doing a quick search for flights between Akron-Canton Airport and Cleveland Hopkins. Seems you can’t do it without a layover somewhere else far afield from either. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2014, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shortest-commercially-available-flight/687442/22 "2014-05-01T19:15:38Z")
I was flying to Phoenix via SLC. Coincidently, my stepson later had to schedule a flight to LAX via SLC and got on the same flight I did. Because of the time I bought my ticket vs. the time he bought his it was cheaper for me to fly from Colorado Springs to DIA while it was cheaper for him to drive just so we both could get from the Springs 73.05 miles to Denver for the same flight. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2014, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shortest-commercially-available-flight/687442/23 "2014-05-01T19:23:17Z")
Topic Air in Belize has a 5 minute flight from Ambergris Caye to Caye Caulker. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2014, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shortest-commercially-available-flight/687442/24 "2014-05-01T19:32:55Z")
> [@nevadaexile](#): > > There are daily flights from Fort Wayne,IN to Chicago and Detroit which take 45 minutes and 35 minutes respectively,including taxiing and getting to the gates. You spend more time getting to the airport and later to your destination than you do in flight. The shortest one I’ve ever been on personally was Indianapolis-Chicago. It’s listed at 55 minutes but is actually more like 25. Once upon a time you could actually fly between Dallas and Ft. Worth. ---
**Author:** ![sitchensis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sitchensis/32/4892_2.png) [@sitchensis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sitchensis)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2014, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shortest-commercially-available-flight/687442/25 "2014-05-01T19:37:12Z")
Ketchikan to Metlakatla is 13 minutes ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2014, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shortest-commercially-available-flight/687442/26 "2014-05-01T20:19:28Z")
I once took a flight between neighboring cities that was barely up in the air before the descent phase started. I Googled to see what the current flight times are. 4+ hours. No more direct flights. Isn’t the hub system wonderful? ---
**Author:** ![R.P.McMurphy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7993a0/32.png) [@R.P.McMurphy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/R.P.McMurphy)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2014, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shortest-commercially-available-flight/687442/27 "2014-05-01T22:20:37Z")
I’ve got a candidate for shortest flight/biggest plane: I was flying to Kinshasha, DRC and was on a 757. It first landed in Brazzaville, RC, then took off across the Congo River and landed in Kinshasha. It was maybe a leisurely 15 minute flight. I can’t imagine how much fuel was burned getting that thing in the air just to land it again. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Feldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lord_feldon/32/341_2.png) [@Lord\_Feldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Feldon)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2014, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shortest-commercially-available-flight/687442/28 "2014-05-01T22:40:08Z")
There used to be flights from one side of Houston to the other, between Houston Intercontinental and Ellington Field, about 30 miles apart. > [@nevadaexile](#): > > There used to be a flight from Fort Wayne to Dayton,OH (25-30 minutes total) but it was dropped due to a lack of passengers. There used to be flights from Columbus to Dayton too. I think there was a regional carrier for US Airways that had a small hub there. ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2014, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shortest-commercially-available-flight/687442/29 "2014-05-01T23:00:41Z")
The shortest flight I’ve personally been on was a USAir DC-9 from Ithaca to Elmira, New York. That’s 32 air miles. I distinctly remember the pilot saying airtime would be 8 minutes. The flight continued to Pittsburgh, where I made a connection to San Francisco. ---
**Author:** ![Silophant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a698b9/32.png) [@Silophant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silophant)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2014, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shortest-commercially-available-flight/687442/30 "2014-05-02T04:30:45Z")
According to Wikipedia, there used to be scheduled flights between MSP and St. Paul’s downtown airport. It doesn’t say the flight time, but the straight-line path is 7.5 miles, so I’m guessing right around 5 minutes, mostly because the runways are perpendicular. ---
**Author:** ![Desert\_Nomad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desert_nomad/32/177_2.png) [@Desert\_Nomad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Desert_Nomad)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2014, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shortest-commercially-available-flight/687442/31 "2014-05-02T05:42:30Z")
I have flown from Mahe to Praslin Island in the Seychelles which is about 10 minutes. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2014, 6:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shortest-commercially-available-flight/687442/32 "2014-05-02T06:03:28Z")
There is small plane short and then there is big plane short. The most big plane short route I know of in the U.S. is St. Thomas to St. Croix, USVI. You can take a large jet from the U.S. mainland, land in St. Thomas, let people out and then continue on to St. Croix. The distance is only a little over 40 miles and takes a few minutes. You never climb to altitude. The runways at the airports involved are aligned so that you just take off and immediately start your final approach into St. Croix. Total flying time is well under 10 minutes. The shortest major route that I know of in the lower 48 is Denver to Colorado Springs or vice versa. They are about 80 miles apart and both have large airports. Total flying time is about 12 - 15 minutes on the larger planes that fly between them. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2014, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shortest-commercially-available-flight/687442/33 "2014-05-02T06:13:26Z")
The shortest flight I’ve ever flown was the twenty mile flight from Plattsburgh, NY to Burlington, Vt. ---
**Author:** ![bengangmo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@bengangmo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bengangmo)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2014, 10:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shortest-commercially-available-flight/687442/34 "2014-05-02T10:58:13Z")
If you’re in New Zealand Picton to Wellington is 25 minutes Nelson to Wellington is 35 minutes ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2014, 11:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shortest-commercially-available-flight/687442/35 "2014-05-02T11:33:05Z")
South Korea, which is about the size of Indiana, has nine commercial airports and eleven civil airfields. Gimpo to Incheon (both serve Seoul) would be pretty short and might exist as a layover, but since both airports are on the same subway line, I doubt there’s much demand. There are flights available between Daegu and Busan and it’s a short flight. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2014, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shortest-commercially-available-flight/687442/36 "2014-05-02T12:28:30Z")
There is an AirTran flight between Columbus and Dayton, OH listed as 6 hours 25 minutes travel time, for $712 round trip. Apparently it’s by way of Atlanta. You could probably bicycle there faster. ---
**Author:** ![Lsura](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7993a0/32.png) [@Lsura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lsura)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2014, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shortest-commercially-available-flight/687442/37 "2014-05-02T13:53:45Z")
Chattanooga, TN to Atlanta, GA - scheduled times are around 45 minutes. From experience, actual flight time is typically around 20 minutes - taxiing/deplaning in Atlanta take longer than flying. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2014, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shortest-commercially-available-flight/687442/38 "2014-05-02T15:00:48Z")
> [@bengangmo](#): > > Nelson to Wellington is 35 minutes That’s the shortest commercial flight I’ve been on. We just reached cruising altitude before starting our descent. But they did serve a snack. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![obfusciatrist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/4af34b/32.png) [@obfusciatrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/obfusciatrist)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2014, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shortest-commercially-available-flight/687442/39 "2014-05-02T16:46:17Z")
Looking at the information available from various tables at [OpenFlights.org](http://openflights.org/data.html). Taking it as a challenge to automate some stuff, I’ve looked at all the scheduled routes that start at airports with codes that begin with A or B. So far, have found nine routes that are 100km or less. No idea the nature of these scheduled routes, but might provide some candidates. Alaska seems a good pool of them, but they have lots of towns wit no connecting roads. Atmautluak, AK to Bethel, AK - 25.36km Batsfjord, Norway to Berlevag, Norway - 38.44km Belmopan, Belize to Belize City, Belize - 58.20km Allakaket, AK to Bettles, AK - 62.32km Alliance, NE to Scotts Bluff, NE - 68.55km Kodiak, AK to Amook, AK - 84.94km Atqasuk, AK to Barrow, AK - 89.76 Al Ain, UAE to Abu Dhabi - UAE - 99.30km Aalborg, Denmark to Arhus, Denmark - 99.89km ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2014, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shortest-commercially-available-flight/687442/40 "2014-05-02T17:01:20Z")
Not a record, but there are daily direct flights between Skagway and Haines, Alaska, that are scheduled at 15 minutes. It is possible in theory to drive between those towns, which are 16 miles apart as the crow flies. Trouble is that it’s an eight-hour trip by way of Whitehorse, YT. There’s also a ferry. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shortest-commercially-available-flight/687442.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shortest-commercially-available-flight/687442.md?page=3)