Nonstop flight route between Ust-Kut, Irkutsk Oblast, Russia and Kraków / Balice, Poland:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Ust-Kut Airport (UKX), Ust-Kut, Irkutsk Oblast, Russia and John Paul II International Airport Kraków–Balice (KRK), Kraków / Balice, Poland would travel a Great Circle distance of 3,328 miles (or 5,356 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 Ust-Kut Airport 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 Ust-Kut Airport 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 Ust-Kut Airport (UKX):

• In addition to being known as "Ust-Kut Airport", another name for UKX is "Аэропорт Усть-Кут".
• New airport construction began in 1963, about 12 km north of Ust-Kut on top of a hill.
• In 1966, the airport received the first cargo plane Antonov An-12.
• During World War II an airfield was built here for the Alaska-Siberian air route used to ferry American Lend-Lease aircraft to the Eastern Front.
• The furthest airport from Ust-Kut Airport (UKX) is Ushuaia International Airport (USH), which is nearly antipodal to Ust-Kut Airport (meaning Ust-Kut Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Ushuaia International Airport), and is located 12,167 miles (19,580 kilometers) away in Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego, Argentina.
• In 2007 a controlling stake in "JSC "Aeroport Ust-Kut"".  has acquired the airline "UTair" planning to use it as their main base in Eastern Siberia.
• The closest airport to Ust-Kut Airport (UKX) is Kirensk Airport (KCK), which is located 108 miles (173 kilometers) NE of UKX.
• Ust-Kut Airport (UKX) currently has only 1 runway.
• Ust-Kut Airport handled 24,291 passengers last year.
• Ust-Kut is an airport in Irkutsk Oblast, Russia located 9 km north of Ust-Kut.
• Reconstruction plan for the airport is included in the federal program of revival of significant airports, but in 2009 the airport "Ust-Kut" is "not necessarily important for the partners." Despite this, according to the General Director of JSC "Ust-Kut Airport" by Yuri Samorokov, it is expected that full-scale reconstruction would still be carried out in 2015.

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

• 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.
• 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 airport has one concrete runway, number 07/25, 2,550 m × 60 m.
• 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 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.
• 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.
• John Paul II International Airport Kraków–Balice (KRK) has 2 runways.
• 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.