Flyveturen der varer halvfems sekunder

Denne flyvetur varer halvfems sekunder. Tag den ven der hader at flyve. Langt mod nord i Skotland ligger små grønne øer i et gråt hav. To af dem hedder Westray og Papa Westray. Et meget lille fly flyver mellem dem.

This flight lasts ninety seconds. Tag the friend who hates flying. In the far north of Scotland there are small green islands in a grey sea. Two of them are called Westray and Papa Westray. A very small plane flies between them.

Flyet er lille. Det har plads til færre end ti personer. Der er ingen væg foran, så passagererne kan se piloten arbejde. Landingsbanen er kort. Den er af græs og grus, med en vindpølse, og der står får i marken ved siden af. Flyet letter, drejer lidt, og lander igen. Hele turen er under tre kilometer.

The plane is tiny. It carries fewer than ten people. There is no wall in front, so the passengers watch the pilot work. The runway is short. It is grass and gravel and a windsock, and sheep stand in the field beside it. The plane goes up, turns a little, and comes down again. The whole trip is under three kilometres.

Køreplanen siger halvandet minut. De fleste dage er det hurtigere end det. Den hurtigste tur nogensinde tog treoghalvtreds sekunder, kortere end denne historie. Folk der bor på øerne, synes ikke det er noget særligt. For dem er det bare bussen til den næste ø. For alle andre er det verdens korteste flyvetur.

The timetable says one and a half minutes. Most days it is faster than that. The fastest flight ever took fifty-three seconds, which is shorter than this story. The people who live on the islands do not think it is special. For them it is just the bus to the next island. For everybody else, it is the shortest flight in the world.