The shortest international flight in the world takes just 8 minutes
However, one small Austrian airline is taking international flying to a whole new level of brevity.
This week, People's Viennaline will launch service between St. Gallen-Altenrhein Airport in Switzerland and Friedrichshafen in Germany, CNN reported.
The flight is the shortest scheduled international flight in the world- covering just 13 miles in distance and lasting a brief eight minutes.
As absurd as a 13-mile-long international flight may sound, it actually makes perfect sense. The short hop to Friedrichshafen crosses the scenic Lake Constance, which straddles the Swiss-German border and is actually one segment of a longer flight to Cologne.
At the same, the short flight to Friedrichshafen takes the place of an hour drive through Austria or two-hour trip on public transit.
People's Viennaline CEO Danel Steffen told CNN that only 4,000 or so passengers a year are expected to take the short flight, but he expects it will be a benefit to both tourists and those who work across the lake.
The Vienna, Austria-based airline currently operates a single Embraer E170 regional airliner with 76 seats and is expected to take delivery of a second aircraft next summer.
Click here to read CNN's full story about short flights around the world.
