Between December and next September, Ryanair's average route length is 778 miles (1,252km), marginally above easyJet's 736 miles (1,184km). Both are quite a bit shorter than Wizz Air's average Europe length of 914 miles (1,471km). All three are within the so-called one-to-two-hour flight time sweet spot for LCCs/ULCCs, although it is pushing it for Wizz Air. What about their extremely short routes?
Ryanair's 10 shortest routes
According to Cirium information, Ryanair has 13 routes under 150 miles (241km) between now and next September. Not all necessarily run year-round. At just 88 miles (142km), the ULCC's shortest route is from Malaga to Tetouan, Morocco. Operating 3 weekly this winter and 6 weekly next summer, it began in April 2019.
Ryanair's 10 shortest routes by distance are as follows. You'll see from the block time that the seventh-shortest, Barcelona-Palma, has a minimum block time of 55 minutes, while marginally longer routes are less; that's because of Barcelona's slots and congestion. Needless to say, they involve islands and/or overwater flying, where ground transport isn't a quick option.
Miles (km) |
Routing |
Shortest block time (either direction) |
Find flights |
---|---|---|---|
88 (142) |
Malaga-Tetouan |
40 minutes |
|
103 (166) |
Malaga-Tangier |
45m |
|
108 (174) |
Ibiza-Valencia |
45m |
|
112 (180) |
Alicante-Ibiza |
45m |
|
116 (187) |
Seville-Tangier |
44m (yes, 44!), currently 23:15-23:59 to Seville |
|
116 (187) |
Catania-Malta |
45m |
|
125 (201) |
Barcelona-Palma |
55m |
|
130 (209) |
Seville-Tetouan |
45m |
|
136 (219) |
Athens-Santorini |
50m |
|
139 (224) |
Stockholm Arlanda-Visby |
45m |
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Wizz Air's 10 shortest routes
Wizz Air has a brand-new shortest route within Europe. Announced on December 7th, it'll be Tirana-Brindisi, just 106 miles (171km) across the water. The 3 weekly service starts next July and has a longer block time than the second-shortest and previous-shortest route, Tirana-Bari.
Notice number four, Bari-Corfu. Obviously, it's a summer-seasonal route, and it runs a surprisingly high 4 weekly. Depending on the day, it departs Bari at 21:45, 22:05, or 22:20 and gets back at 00:15, 00:35, or 00:50. Notice, too, that two routes (Budapest-Targu Mures, Tuzla-Vienna) are overland.
Miles (km) |
Routing |
Shortest block time (either direction) |
---|---|---|
106 (171) |
Tirana-Brindisi |
1 hour |
155 (250) |
Tirana-Bari |
55m |
172 (276) |
Rome Ciampino-Olbia |
55m |
197 (317) |
Bari-Corfu |
1 hour |
210 (339) |
Larnaca-Tel Aviv |
1h 5m |
218 (351) |
Gdansk-Malmo |
55m |
238 (384) |
Rome Fiumicino-Split |
1h 10m |
253 (408) |
Budapest-Targu Mures |
1h 5m |
267 (429) |
Bologna-Olbia |
1h 10m |
272 (439) |
Tuzla-Vienna |
1h 10m |
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easyJet's 10 shortest routes
Things are rather different for easyJet, with all of its shortest routes involving the UK. Notice numbers three and seven. easyJet launched Belfast City-Liverpool on October 30th, presumably partly to dissuade the entry of Flybe, followed the next day by Glasgow, presumably partly to protect its Belfast-Glasgow stronghold.
Miles (km) |
Routing |
Shortest block time (either direction) |
---|---|---|
76 (122) |
Belfast International-Isle of Man |
40m |
89 (144) |
Liverpool-Isle of Man |
40m |
104 (167) |
Glasgow-Belfast City |
45m |
109 (175) |
Manchester-Isle of Man |
50m |
110 (176) |
Belfast International-Glasgow |
45m |
143 (231) |
Belfast International-Edinburgh |
45m |
152 (244) |
Liverpool-Belfast City |
50m |
161 (259) |
London Gatwick-Jersey |
1h |
165 (265) |
Belfast International-Liverpool |
50m |
183 (294) |
Belfast International-Newcastle |
55m |
Have you flown any of the above? If so, let us know in the comments.