• Ryanair Boeing 737
    Ryanair
    IATA/ICAO Code:
    FR/RYR
    Airline Type:
    Low-Cost Carrier
    Hub(s):
    Dublin Airport, London Stansted Airport, Milan Bergamo Airport
    Year Founded:
    1985
    Airline Group:
    Ryanair Group
    CEO:
    Eddie Wilson
    Country:
    Ireland

Summary

  • Ryanair will provide more than one in seven of Europe's short-haul seats this winter.
  • At 88 miles (142 km), Malaga to Tetouan, Morocco, is its shortest route.
  • All of its 10 shortest routes are over water.

Ryanair is Europe's largest airline. This winter, it has about 68 million seats for sale across its various units. While the ultra-low-cost carrier's average sector length this coming season is 829 miles (1,334 km), what about its extremely short routes?

Ryanair's shortest routes this winter

Examining more than 2,000 routes shows that Malaga to Tetouan, Morocco, is Ryanair's shortest route, as summarized below. At just 88 miles (142 km), it operates two to three times weekly, depending on the specific week.

Ryanair 737-800 in Morocco
Photo: vedrana2701/Shutterstock

It began in April 2019 and has a block time (what is published on its website) to North Africa of 45 minutes and 40 minutes back. In reality, the flight time can take as little as 20 minutes, based on FlightRadar24.com data.

If I examined the summer instead of winter, Morocco's time zone change and the route's sub-hour block would have meant it arrived there before it took off from Spain, a fun example of 'time traveling.'

A common feature among the following 10 routes is crossing water. As such, flying is often a much quicker and more convenient option. Note that Stockholm Arlanda to Visby is not on the list this winter.

  • Malaga to Tetouan: 88 miles (142 km)
  • Malaga to Tangier: 103 miles (166 km)
  • Ibiza to Valencia: 108 miles (174 km)
  • Alicante to Ibiza: 112 miles (180 km)
  • Catania to Malta: 115 miles (185 km)
  • Seville to Tangier: 116 miles (187 km)
  • Barcelona to Palma: 125 miles (201 km)
  • Seville to Tetouan: 130 miles (209 km)
  • Malaga to Nador: 135 miles (217 km); ends for the season on November 6th
  • Dublin to Liverpool: 140 miles (225 km); some flights leave Liverpool at 00:20!
Ryanair's 10 shortest winter routes
Image: GCMap

There were shorter routes

Analysis of Ryanair's vast network in the past 20 years shows two shorter routes than Malaga-Tetouan. At just 80 miles (129 km), Glasgow Prestwick to Belfast City ran between October 2007 and October 2010. While shorter by distance, it had a block time of 45 minutes – the same as the current shortest – and up to triple daily services.

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Ryanair_(EI-EKR),_Belfast_City_Airport,_April_2010_(01)
Photo: Ardfen via Wikimedia Commons

At 84 miles (135 km), Athens-Mykonos was also shorter than Malaga-Tetouan. Operated between March 2016 and October 2018, the Greek domestic service had a scheduled time of 50 minutes, longer due to busier airports and Mykonos' slot issues in the all-important peak summer.

What about Irish domestic flights?

While Ryanair presently serves Dublin-Kerry, it is 161 miles (259 km) and, therefore, not on the top 10 list. You might remember other Irish domestic services it previously operated and think they'd be up there. And to a degree, they would be if they were still served.

Ryanair flew Dublin-Cork from November 2005 to October 2011 and Dublin-Shannon between November 2007 and February 2008. At just 121 miles (195km), Shannon would have been short enough to appear on this winter's list, but not Cork.

What is the shortest Ryanair route you've flown? Let us know in the comments.

Sources of information: Cirium, OAG, FlightRadar24.com, GCMap.com