Nonstop flight route between Kraków / Balice, Poland and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between John Paul II International Airport Kraków–Balice (KRK), Kraków / Balice, Poland and United States Naval Station Guantanamo Bay (NBW), Guantanamo Bay, Cuba would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,384 miles (or 8,665 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 John Paul II International Airport Kraków–Balice and United States Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, 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 John Paul II International Airport Kraków–Balice and United States Naval Station Guantanamo Bay. 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 John Paul II International Airport Kraków–Balice (KRK):

• Because of John Paul II International Airport Kraków–Balice's relatively low elevation of 791 feet, planes can take off or land at John Paul II International Airport Kraków–Balice 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.
• The furthest airport from John Paul II International Airport Kraków–Balice (KRK) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,559 miles (18,603 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• The closest airport to John Paul II International Airport Kraków–Balice (KRK) is Katowice International Airport (KTW), which is located 41 miles (67 kilometers) NW of KRK.
• The "Balice Ekspres" operates between Kraków Główny and the Kraków–Balice Airport railway station.
• A seven story parking garage opposite T1 became fully operational in May 2010.
• In 1995 the airport's name was changed from Kraków–Balice Airport to John Paul II International Airport Kraków–Balice, to honor Pope John Paul II, who spent many years of his life in Kraków and had served as Archbishop of Kraków from 1963 until his elevation to the Papacy in 1978.
• In addition to being known as "John Paul II International Airport Kraków–Balice", another name for KRK is "Międzynarodowy Port Lotniczy im. Jana Pawła II Kraków–Balice".
• Public buses link the airport during the day and during the night with the main railway station in Kraków and the central bus station.
• John Paul II International Airport Kraków–Balice (KRK) has 2 runways.
• It is also expected that the railway line will ultimately reach the terminal building, rather than the current temporary stop 250 m from terminal T1 by 2015.

Facts about United States Naval Station Guantanamo Bay (NBW):

• The closest airport to United States Naval Station Guantanamo Bay (NBW) is Mariana Grajales Airport (GAO), which is located only 13 miles (21 kilometers) N of NBW.
• During the war the base was set up to use a non-descript number for postal operations.
• The furthest airport from United States Naval Station Guantanamo Bay (NBW) is RAAF Learmonth (LEA), which is located 11,820 miles (19,022 kilometers) away in Exmouth, Western Australia, Australia.
• In the last quarter of the 20th century, the base was used to house Cuban and Haitian refugees intercepted on the high seas.
• Notable persons born at the naval base include actor Peter Bergman and American guitarist Isaac Guillory.