Austria's Air Travel: Which Airports To Know?

Austria is a captivating European destination nestled in the soaring Alps, attracting tourists from all over the world with its stunning cities and ethereal beauty. The country has a good network of airports to meet all travel needs and make it accessible to everyone.

Austria has six international airports, with the airport in Vienna, the country's capital, being the busiest. The Vienna International Airport is the largest airport in Austria and is located in Schwechat, about 18 kilometres southeast of the city centre. It is the main hub for Austrian Airlines and a base for low-cost carriers Ryanair and Wizz Air.

The second-largest airport in Austria is the Salzburg Airport, named after the famous Austrian composer, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. It is located just a few kilometres from the centre of Salzburg.

Other international airports in Austria include the Graz Airport, the Blue Danube Airport in Linz, the Innsbruck Airport, and the Kärnten Airport in Klagenfurt, which is the smallest international airport in the country.

Vienna International Airport

The airport is easily accessible by car via the A4 motorway and the S1 highway. It has its own railway station with S-Bahn, regional train, CAT and long-distance transport connections. The City Airport Train (CAT) is the fastest connection to and from the city centre, taking just 16 minutes.

The airport was originally built as a military airport in 1938 and was used during World War II. It was taken over by the British in 1945 and became RAF Schwechat. In 1954, the airport replaced Wien-Aspern Airport as Vienna's principal aerodrome. Since then, it has undergone various expansions, including the addition of new runways, terminals and concourses.

The airport is capable of handling wide-body aircraft, including the Airbus A380, and offers a dense network of European destinations along with long-haul flights to Asia, North America and Africa.

Salzburg Airport

The airport is jointly owned by the Salzburg Municipality (25%) and the Salzburg State (75%). It has a small footprint, covering only 175 hectares of land, but boasts a 2,750-metre runway capable of handling large aircraft such as the Boeing 747-400.

The airport offers outstanding scheduled flights to major European cities and excellent connections to hubs in Frankfurt, Dubai, London, and Istanbul. It also has a strong low-cost network and regular chartered flights to Mediterranean holiday destinations in the summer and Northern Europe in the winter, making it a significant hub for tourism in the region. Direct flights to Salzburg are available from several cities, including Berlin, Düsseldorf, Hamburg, Frankfurt, Istanbul, and London.

Graz Airport

The airport is situated near Graz, Austria's second-largest city, in the municipalities of Feldkirchen and Kalsdorf. The airport terminal is in Abtissendorf, Feldkirchen municipality, and the runway spans the village of Abtissendorf and the cadastral community of Thalerhof in Kalsdorf municipality.

The airport offers a range of facilities, including car rental services, conference rooms, eateries, banking services, shops, travel agencies, a restaurant and cafes. It also features a VIP lounge for business class and priority customers.

The history of Graz Airport dates back to 1913, when construction began on a grass runway and the first hangars. The airport saw its first flight in 1914, making it one of the oldest airports in Austria. In 1925, it serviced the first domestic passenger flight in Austria, operating the route Vienna–Graz–Klagenfurt. The airport has undergone several expansions and improvements over the years, including the construction of terminal buildings, runway extensions, and the addition of new routes to European hubs.

Linz Airport

The airport is equipped with a 3000-metre-long precision runway with two instrumental landing systems and a helicopter landing pad. It is a military airport with a civil right of use, with the civil part located north of the landing strip. The airport is operated by Flughafen Linz GmbH, which is owned equally by OÖ Verkehrsholding GmbH and the city of Linz.

Klagenfurt Airport

The airport is around 4 km from the centre of town, which can be reached by public bus or with the S-bahn Klagenfurt Annabichl, located a 10-minute walk from the terminal. The airport has its own exit, Klagenfurt Flughafen, on the nearby motorway A2, which leads to Vienna and Italy. A regular suburban bus service connects the airport with the city centre, including Klagenfurt Central Station. There is also a coach connection between Klagenfurt Airport and Ljubljana Jože Pučnik Airport, served several times a day.

The airport features one small passenger terminal building with shops, restaurants and a visitors' terrace. The apron provides several stands for mid-sized planes, such as the Airbus A320, as well as smaller general aviation aircraft. As there are no jet bridges, buses are used for boarding.

Airlines operating at Klagenfurt Airport include Austrian Airlines, Lauda, Ryanair, Eurowings, and UKS Touristik/Sky Alps. Destinations served by the airport include Vienna, Hamburg, Hannover, Cologne, London Stansted, Palma de Mallorca, Paros, Alicante and Ibiza.

Frequently asked questions