Katowice Wojciech Korfanty Airport () is an international airport, located in Pyrzowice, north of Katowice, Poland. The airport has the 4th-biggest annual passenger flow in Poland.It is also the second biggest airport in the country in terms of cargo traffic. It operates a variety of charter, regular and cargo flights. Long-haul flights are operated from Katowice to Varadero in Cuba, Bangkok and Phuket in Thailand, Cancún in Mexico, Malé in Maldives and to Puerto Plata as well as Punta Cana in Dominican Republic by LOT's Boeing 787s Dreamliner. The airport has the tallest Air Traffic Control Tower and the second longest runway in Poland. Katowice Airport is the Poland's only airport with more than one passenger terminal and the airport with the biggest number of based airlines. The Katowice Airport serves the most industrialised region in Poland, one of the most urbanised areas of Europe. 13 million inhabitants are estimated to live within 100 km of Katowice Airport. This is a larger catchment area than many airports in Europe. History Early years The current location of Katowice Airport was initially used by German soldiers. In 1940, the Luftwaffe began construction of an airbase in the meadows around Pyrzowice. The Germans built three stone and concrete airstrips, with runway lengths varying from 1,000 to 1,500 meters, all of which around 50 meters wide. The airbase was used for handling of military aircraft flying from the inner part of the German Reich, carrying supplies to troops on the Eastern Front. In the final phase of World War II, the Messerschmitt Me 163 Komet rocket-powered aircraft were tested here. Following General Ernst Udet's (a Luftwaffe flying ace) death in 1941, the airfield was named Udetfeld. From 1945 to 1951, Soviet soldiers were stationed at the airbase. In the early 1950s, the Soviets handed the airbase over to the Polish Air Force. It was then used by the 39th Fighter Regiment, created on 17 April 1951. A new runway was built in 1964. Soon after, the airbase Pyrzowice became host to its first-ever regular passenger traffic, when on 6 October 1966, the first plane of LOT Polish Airlines took off for Warsaw. By the end of 1969, a small passenger terminal was built (550 m2), together with a taxiway and an apron. This runway has since been replaced by a new adjacent one (3,200m), completed in May 2015. Development since the 1990s In 1991,