When you think about flying international, the image of 10 hours journeys come to mind. However, one small Austrian airline is taking international flying to a whole new level of brevity.

People’s Viennaline launchs service between St. Gallen-Altenrhein Airport in Switzerland and Friedrichshafen in Germany.

The flight is the shortest scheduled international flight in the world— covering just 13 miles in distance and lasting a brief eight minutes.

The short hop

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 time, 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 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.

Source: Business Insider