“Saturn’s Rings” between Krakow and Katowice. A Wizz Air plane broke a record

Aviation fans rubbed their eyes in amazement as they watched the route of Sunday’s flight W6401 from Katowice to Krakow. The Wizz Air plane, which was supposed to return to the Małopolska airport after being previously redirected to Pyrzowice, was stuck in the air for nearly three and a half hours. The problem was caused by thick fog, which made it difficult for the pilot to land in Balice. The machine circled the surrounding villages as many as 27 times, setting a new “holding laps” record, and then finally returned to Katowice. Fortunately, there were no passengers on board.

The weather ruined the plans

Last weekend was not the most pleasant for tourists using air travel. Thick fog made flights difficult for passengers both in Poland and abroad. There were situations in which flights were massively redirected to other airports. This problem concerned primarily the Kraków-Balice airport. Planes that unsuccessfully attempted to land were taken to nearby airports in Katowice and Ostrava, Czech Republic, and then, without passengers, had to return to their “base”. This part also proved to be a big challenge for the airline. The biggest problems occurred with the Airbus A321, which, while returning from Katowice, circled the villages of Lesser Poland as many as 27 times. After wandering in the air for over three hours, the pilot finally gave up and returned to Silesia. The unique flight did not escape the attention of aviation specialists. Flightradar24 gave him an unofficial record for the number of so-called holding laps, i.e. laps in the waiting zone for landing.

The flight should only last 20 minutes

As noted by the Polska Press Group website, fuel consumption in this type of aircraft is 1,900 kilograms per hour of flight, and filling a similar machine to capacity costs approximately PLN 100,000. zlotys. Under normal conditions, an airplane should complete such a route in just over 20 minutes, and by the fastest train, passengers can cover this section in less than 50 minutes. In three and a half hours, potential rail passengers could visit Kraków and Katowice even twice.