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)

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88 (142)

Malaga-Tetouan

40 minutes

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103 (166)

Malaga-Tangier

45m

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108 (174)

Ibiza-Valencia

45m

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112 (180)

Alicante-Ibiza

45m

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116 (187)

Seville-Tangier

44m (yes, 44!), currently 23:15-23:59 to Seville

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116 (187)

Catania-Malta

45m

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125 (201)

Barcelona-Palma

55m

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130 (209)

Seville-Tetouan

45m

Click here for Seville-Tetouan flights

136 (219)

Athens-Santorini

50m

Click here for Athens-Santorini flights

139 (224)

Stockholm Arlanda-Visby

45m

Click here for Arlanda-Visby flights

Ryanair Boeing 737 MAX
Photo: Getty Images.

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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.