I boarded the world's shortest scheduled flight, with a record time of 53 seconds

Telegraph

a day ago

'What's your record time?' I asked the pilot, Alex Rendall.
'Fifty-six,' he replied. We both knew we were dealing in seconds here, not minutes.
'Will we beat that today?'
Rendall knows this route well, having flown it somewhere between 1,500 and 2,000 times. I sensed I was not the first eager passenger to ask him this question.
'There's a bit of wind,' he hesitated. 'But let's see what we can do.'
He flicked a few switches and the twin piston engines fired into life. The wheels began to turn and through the window I caught a final glimpse of Westray Airport's terminal, effectively a white shed, staffed by a waving chap in a high-vis jacket. Of its five parking bays, three were empty; one was occupied by a tractor.
The plane, a Britten-Norman Islander, is spiritually closer to a bread bin than a Boeing, with space for just eight passengers plus a single pilot. There are no loos. No in-flight entertainment. There's no seat selection, either, as passengers are told where to sit to ensure a fair distribution of weight in the aircraft. Hand luggage is popped in the boot.
Today I didn't have any luggage with me, as I was keen to do my bit to make the plane as light as possible. The Westray to Papa Westray flight holds the Guinness World Record as the shortest scheduled flight on Earth, spanning just 1.7 miles, shorter than the runway at Edinburgh Airport. It usually takes around 90 seconds to complete, but former pilot Stuart Linklater, who flew the route more than 12,000 times, once completed it in just 53 seconds.
As the wheels lifted from the tarmac I started the timer and indulged in a moment of hope. This could be the day that record was broken.
The shortest flight on Earth
At an altitude of a few hundred feet, 30 seconds already on the clock, I could see the gentle terrain of Papa Westray emerging like a whale's back surfacing from the sea (a comparison I borrow from local poet George Mackay Brown). As I took in the views with half an eye on my timer, I sensed a wry smile from the woman seated behind me. For Orcadians, this flight is the equivalent of hopping on a bus to go to the dentist.
The Westray to Papa Westray route is part of Loganair's Inter-Isles service, connecting six of the more remote Orkney islands with Kirkwall Airport on the 'Mainland'. The network is a public service obligation, in operation since 1967, and locals get discounted tickets. They get first dibs, too, meaning round-trip sightseeing tickets starting from Kirkwall are only allocated to tourists on the day.
There is an existential stopwatch hanging over the route, too. In 2014, Orkney Islands Council began looking into a series of fixed links including tunnels, bridges and causeways across seven islands. Those proposals went quiet, but as part of the 2024/2025 budget a £20m fund was allocated to improve inter-island connectivity across Orkney and Shetland. This could be put towards a variety of infrastructural projects, whether it be ferry or road connections, but Labour's Torcuil Crichton described the idea of futuristic tunnels as a 'populist' measure.
A one-mile stretch of water now beneath our aircraft, I could see Papa Westray's short air strip, marked by a drystone wall splashed in red and white paint. With a heavy clunk, we touched down, and I clicked stop to see a total flying time of 2 minutes and 7 seconds. It was a shame not to have broken two minutes, but I had no time to wallow, for I had precisely two hours until I would be boarding the flight back to Kirkwall.
A tight-knit community (with Hollywood links)
My bones still softly vibrating from the flight, I was welcomed onto the island (referred to as 'Papay' by the locals) by the ranger, Jonathan Ford, who was waiting for me at the terminal gate.
I had heard about Orkney's islanders having a unique dialect, with Norwegian influences and an inflection similar to Welsh or Irish. But when we hopped into Jon's minibus I detected an English accent. What brought him to this most remote Scottish island?
'The great auk,' he said. 'I came here on Christmas Eve in 2013 to see where they lived. I had become very obsessed with black and white birds, mainly pied wagtails, but that grew into great auks. Obviously I couldn't see them because they're extinct, but I wanted to visit a place where they lived.'
The following year the ranger job came up.
'I got the job, sold my house and came here,' he said, in the way someone might describe putting on a coat and popping to the shop. Ten years later, he remains in the post.
Life is quiet here. What we just witnessed at the airport, a gathering of half a dozen people, is considered 'rush hour'. The island has a population of 85. People don't drive on the left or the right. 'We just drive straight down the middle,' said Jon. The local school has six students and three members of staff. People don't bother locking their cars, or front doors.
Recently, Papay's football team even took part in the inter-island Orkney Cup for the first time. They lost 6-0 in their debut fixture against neighbouring Sanday, but made national news for having three generations of the same family in the starting 11.
The heart of the community, however, is the village pub (effectively a pump in the corner of the hostel hall), which was the first stop on our tour. It opens only on Saturdays, and Jon described how the room slowly fills with locals and guests who end up joining tables. As the evening progresses, it often descends into a dance. Recently, there was a particularly famous punter in attendance.
In December 2015, Amy Liptrot published her award-winning memoir, The Outrun, about life growing up in Orkney and struggling with addiction. In reality she grew up on Orkney's Mainland, but when the book was adapted into a film, scouts chose Papa Westray as the filming location. The lead star in the film was Saoirse Ronan, who spent many weeks filming on the island and was often seen at the pub during the shoot.
A few people have travelled to the island off the back of the film, Jon said, but more seem to come for the flight itself.
'People do come from all over the world just to land at the airport. You can tell them a mile off because they are always dressed very inappropriately,' he laughed.
Buildings older than the Pyramids
Despite the speedy flight, and the Hollywood star, Papay's main attraction will always be the next stop on our tour: the Knap of Howar. Located in a nondescript field down a farm track, these two sunken houses represent the oldest standing stone buildings in north-west Europe, occupied 5,500 years ago, before the Pyramids had been built. In one you can see an old quern stone, like a giant pestle and mortar, that the neolithic residents would have used to grind grains.
With time already running out, we sped up to the Fowl Craig sea cliffs on the northern end of the island. This is the best spot to see visiting seabirds, Jon said, and while the puffin remained elusive on our visit I could see guillemots and razorbills nesting above the crashing Atlantic waters. The biggest bird, however, was perched on land: an exact bronze replica of a great auk, unveiled to the world just days before with Jo Cooper, a curator from the Natural History Museum, in attendance.
I looked at my watch and saw that my plane was due to depart in less than 15 minutes. To add to the sense of urgency, in the near distance we could see the plane approaching from the south-east.
'Ah,' said Jonathan. 'Yes, we are cutting it a bit fine now.'
We raced back to the car, semi-jogging across the maritime heathland, and Jon zoomed us down the tracks to the airport. At one point the aircraft was directly overhead, and it felt like we were in a budget, very low-stakes action film. Four minutes to take-off. What is it with Papa Westray and races against the clock?
We made it, of course. Jon said that even if we were a bit late, the pilot would have waited. And without so much as a check of my identity or evidence of a ticket, I hurried onto the runway, ducked under the wing and squeezed into my seat into the bread bin cabin. Next stop, Kirkwall. Spanning 27 miles and lasting 15 minutes, the journey felt practically long-haul.
Getting there
The Westray to Papa Westray flight is operated by Loganair and starts from £16. A sightseer round-trip ticket starting in Kirkwall costs £50, but this is subject to availability and can only be booked on the day of travel. Orkney Ferries operates services between Kirkwall, Papa Westray and Westray.
Book a tour
You can join Jonathan Ford, the Papa Westray Ranger, on a tour of the island starting from £60 per adult for a full day. He also skippers boats to the Holm of Papay (£30 per person) and can organise a packed lunch from the Northern Delights Cafe (£7.50).
Where to stay
Papa Westray has a charming, recently refurbished community-run hostel with six rooms – all with showers and sea views. Double occupancy starts from £72 per night, based on a minimum two-night stay. There are also two camping bothies which start from £62 for twin occupancy.