Nonstop flight route between Fort Rucker/Ozark, Alabama, United States and Kraków / Balice, Poland:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Cairns Army Airfield (AAF) (OZR), Fort Rucker/Ozark, Alabama, United States and John Paul II International Airport Kraków–Balice (KRK), Kraków / Balice, Poland would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,212 miles (or 8,387 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 Cairns Army Airfield (AAF) and John Paul II International Airport Kraków–Balice, 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 Cairns Army Airfield (AAF) and John Paul II International Airport Kraków–Balice. 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 Cairns Army Airfield (AAF) (OZR):

• Cairns is the busiest airfield in the Army, training large numbers of Army aviators both day and night with an average annual traffic count of approximately 240,000 movements.
• Fort Rucker is the Home of Army Aviation, where all of the Army's Aviators as well as many international and civilian personnel begin their rotary-wing flight training.
• Cairns Army Airfield (AAF) (OZR) has 2 runways.
• The furthest airport from Cairns Army Airfield (AAF) (OZR) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,214 miles (18,047 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• In addition to being known as "Cairns Army Airfield (AAF)", other names for OZR include "Cairns Army Airfield" and "Fort Rucker".
• Because of Cairns Army Airfield (AAF)'s relatively low elevation of 301 feet, planes can take off or land at Cairns Army Airfield (AAF) 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 closest airport to Cairns Army Airfield (AAF) (OZR) is Lowe Army Heliport (AHP) (LOR), which is located only 6 miles (10 kilometers) NNW of OZR.

Facts about John Paul II International Airport Kraków–Balice (KRK):

• 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.
• 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".
• 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.
• As of September 2013, a new hotel is being built in the nearest area of the airport terminal.
• 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.
• 11 April 2013 saw the beginning of construction works of a new airport terminal, which would be adjacent to the existing old terminal building.
• 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.
• 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.
• John Paul II International Airport Kraków–Balice (KRK) has 2 runways.
• In 2003, when Irish low-cost carrier Ryanair became interested in starting a service from the John Paul II International Airport, the airport authorities refused to reduce the landing fees.
• The "Balice Ekspres" operates between Kraków Główny and the Kraków–Balice Airport railway station.
• On 12 December 2012, Irish low cost carrier Ryanair announced they would be opening their second Polish base in Kraków basing two Boeing 737–800 aircraft at the airport from 31 March 2013, which allows the carrier to increase the number of the routes from Kraków to 31.