Nonstop flight route between Great Falls, Montana, United States and Katowice / Pyrzowice, Poland:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Malmstrom Air Force Base (GFA), Great Falls, Montana, United States and Katowice International Airport (KTW), Katowice / Pyrzowice, Poland would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,050 miles (or 8,127 kilometers).

A Great Circle is the shortest distance between 2 points on a sphere. Because most world maps are flat (but the Earth is round), the route of the shortest distance between 2 points on the Earth will often appear curved when viewed on a flat map, especially for long distances. If you were to simply draw a straight line on a flat map and measure a very long distance, it would likely be much further than if you were to lay a string between those two points on a globe. Because of the large distance between Malmstrom Air Force Base and Katowice International Airport, the route shown on this map most likely appears curved because of this reason.

Try it at home! Get a globe and tightly lay a string between Malmstrom Air Force Base and Katowice International Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Malmstrom Air Force Base (GFA):

• Great Falls AAB was assigned to II Bomber Command, Second Air Force.
• DC-20 was initially under the Great Falls Air Defense Sector, established on 1 March 1959.
• On 1 July 1968, the F-101B equipped 29th FIS was inactivated and replaced by the F-106 Delta Dart equipped 71st Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, which was reassigned from Richards Gebaur AFB when its ADC mission was eliminated.
• By 1954, several aircraft control and warning squadrons had been formed at the base.
• Great Falls was reassigned to the Central Air Defense Force at Richards-Gebaur Air Force Base in 1953.
• The furthest airport from Malmstrom Air Force Base (GFA) is Sir Gaëtan Duval Airport (RRG), which is located 10,495 miles (16,891 kilometers) away in Rodrigues Island, Mauritius.
• The closest airport to Malmstrom Air Force Base (GFA) is Great Falls International Airport (GTF), which is located only 9 miles (14 kilometers) W of GFA.
• Great Falls became the temporary home of the 582nd Air Resupply and Communications Wing on 1 May 1953 which was transferred from Mountain Home AFB, Idaho.
• In addition to being known as "Malmstrom Air Force Base", another name for GFA is "Malmstrom AFB".
• Originally named Great Falls Army Air Base, later Great Falls Air Force Base, the facility was renamed Malmstrom Air Force Base on 1 October 1955 in honor of Colonel Einar Axel Malmstrom.
• Aircraft shipments to the Soviet Union stopped in September 1945, when World War II ended, with approximately 8,000 aircraft having been processed in a 21-month period.

Facts about Katowice International Airport (KTW):

• The airbase Pyrzowice was for the first time made available for passenger traffic on 6 October 1966, when the first plane of LOT Polish Airlines, taking off for Warsaw.
• Because of Katowice International Airport's relatively low elevation of 304 feet, planes can take off or land at Katowice International Airport at a lower air speed than at airports located at a higher elevation. This is because the air density is higher closer to sea level than it would otherwise be at higher elevations.
• From 1945 to 1951, Soviet Army's soldiers were stationed at the airbase.
• The furthest airport from Katowice International Airport (KTW) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,576 miles (18,630 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• The airport features two passenger terminals A and B and a cargo terminal.
• Katowice International Airport (KTW) currently has only 1 runway.
• In addition to being known as "Katowice International Airport", other names for KTW include "Międzynarodowy Port Lotniczy Katowice" and "Katowice".
• The closest airport to Katowice International Airport (KTW) is John Paul II International Airport Kraków–Balice (KRK), which is located 41 miles (67 kilometers) SE of KTW.
• There is an hourly bus service between Katowice city centre and the airport.