The Flight That Lasts Ninety Seconds

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.

Safari hii ya ndege inadumu sekunde tisini. Mtaje rafiki anayechukia kuruka. Kaskazini mwa Uskoti kuna visiwa vidogo vya kijani katika bahari ya kijivu. Viwili vinaitwa Westray na Papa Westray. Ndege ndogo sana huruka kati yao.

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.

Ndege hiyo ni ndogo. Inabeba watu chini ya kumi. Hakuna ukuta mbele, hivyo abiria huangalia rubani akifanya kazi. Uwanja wa ndege ni mfupi. Ni nyasi na changarawe na kitambaa cha kuonyesha upepo, na kondoo husimama shambani kando yake. Ndege hupanda juu, hugeuka kidogo, na kushuka tena. Safari nzima ni chini ya kilomita tatu.

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.

Ratiba inasema dakika moja na nusu. Siku nyingi huwa haraka kuliko hivyo. Safari ya haraka zaidi kuwahi kutokea ilichukua sekunde hamsini na tatu, muda mfupi kuliko hadithi hii. Watu wanaoishi visiwani hawaoni kuwa ni jambo la ajabu. Kwao ni basi tu la kwenda kisiwa kingine. Kwa kila mtu mwingine, ni safari ya ndege fupi zaidi duniani.