World's shortest international flight canned

The eight minute flight proved too costly and did not attract enough passengers. Photo / Wikimedia Commons

A mere five months after its inception, the world's shortest international flight will be permanantly grounded.

The Austrian People's Air Group announced last weekend that it had decided to retire its eight minute flight between Switzerland and Germany, the Local reported.

Airline management said the short flight had proved too costly and did not attract the expected number of passengers.

The 20km flight from St. Gallen-Altenrhein, Switzerland and Friedrichshafen in southern Germany debuted in November last year.

It had beaten the previous record for the shortest international flight - a ten minute journey between Vienna, Austria and Bratislava, Slovakia.

"This stopover will benefit both tourists and commuters working on both sides of the lake and, of course, it is also likely to become a must in every aviation enthusiast's logbook," CEO Danel Steffen told CNN when the flight was launched.

During its short duration, the flight attracted attention from environmental groups, which complained about the high amount of fuel used on the brief trip.