Welcome to the flight report about the shortest flight of the world from Westray to Papa Westray.
I had been planning to visit Shetland and Orkney for a long time, and I especially wanted to try this flight. My itinerary was:
Keflavík to Glasgow, Icelandair, business class
Edinburgh to Shetland Sumburgh, Loganair
Shetland to Orkney Kirkwall, Loganair
Orkney to Westray, Loganair
Westray to Papa Westray, Loganair
Papa Westray to Orkney, Loganair
Orkney to Edinburgh, Loganair
I was originally planning to spend the night at Westray but as my flight from Shetland to Orkney was cancelled the morning before I was rebooked on the Kirkwall – Westray – Papa Westray – Kirkwall flight, flying on the same plane and staying on (or near to) it on both small islands.
While most of the UK’s airlines work either on the low-cost model or target holiday destinations, Loganair is very different. It’s a regional airline with a focus on Shetland, Orkney and the Hebrides in Scotland where its services are vital for many smaller communities. It operates a fleet of small aircraft and regional jets, such as Twin Otters, BN-2’s, Saab 340’s, Embraer 135’s and 145’s.
Loganair offers a much more personal service and experience than almost any other airline in the UK – see my previous flight report from Kirkwall to Westray.
Westray and Papa Westray are two small islands in the north of Orkney. Westray Airport lies 44 kms north to Kirkwall Airport and 380 kms to Edinburgh Airport. Westray is about 47 square kilometres and has a population of about 600. Papa Westray is only about 9 square kilometres and has a population of 90. The distance between the two airports is 2800 meters, so shorter than many runways around the world.
We landed at Westray Airport at 09.39. Two passengers left the plane and another boarded. Westray Airport is slightly smaller than Heathrow
The plane was a BN2A Islander built in 1986, registration number G-BLDV.
I had to get off the plane to let the other passengers disembark and I was waiting right next to it until the new passenger boarded
I had a view on the runway…
…which is a gravel runway
The plane has two seats for the pilots but it is single-pilot certified and is flown by a single pilot. There are 8 passenger seats with four rows of two seats each. There’s no aisle; boarding is directly from the side doors to the seats. There’s no seat allocation at check-in but the ground crew tells you where to sit. There’s of course no cabin crew.
The engines were started at 09.46.00, and we departed ten seconds later at 09.46.10. Take-off was at 09.47.22.
A five-course menu of caviar, foie gras, lobster thermidor, cheese plate and dessert was served after take-off. Euh, no, sorry, this is a different flight review. There was of course no service during this less-than-two-minute flight but we had nice views immediately after take-off
Flying between Westray and Papa Westray
Overflying Papa Westray
We landed at Papa Westray at 09.49.14. The actual flight time was one minute and 52 seconds.
A fire engine is always ready
Papa Westray Airport is really small
Many of the island’s cars were at the airport. So were the passengers waiting to board the plane to Kirkwall and some of the islanders waiting for the arriving passengers.
For a full experience I suggest you read my flight reports about the flight from Kirkwall to Westray and from Papa Westray to Kirkwall. The most beautiful views are actually not between Westray and Papa Westray but on the slightly longer routes to/from Kirkwall.
Thank you for reading my flight report and please feel free to comment or to ask any questions.
