Dinner with Ganghofer

Airport boss: “I love going on road trips”

Airport boss Bettina Ganghofer in an interview with the "Krone" newspaper(Bild: Tröster Andreas)

Airport boss Bettina Ganghofer revealed to "Krone" why her father and mother were her greatest inspiration.

Ms. Ganghofer, I'm delighted that it worked out with a meal. You remain loyal to the fleet and have chosen Das Wolfgang at the airport.

Yes, I will also opt for my regular dish. The "Salzburg airport salad". It's not on the menu, but a green salad with chicken always works.

I have the feeling you like to stick to the tried and tested. Before your job as head of the airport, you worked for Lufthansa for 24 years. How do you last so long in one company?

You've been at different stations and locations: Cologne, Frankfurt, Milan, Shanghai... Because you're constantly taking on new tasks, it's like joining a new company again and again.

Bettina Ganghofer(Bild: Tröster Andreas)

I don't think that's so easy. How do you approach such frequent changes of location?

By always remaining curious. I also used to travel a lot with my father as a child. He was a Lufthansa pilot.

And your own family always supported you with all the traveling? 

The first big stop abroad in my career was Shanghai. At the time, my children were just four and six years old and naturally very excited. But they settled into their new school very quickly. My husband was also always wonderfully supportive. At first he worked part-time, but then we decided that he would stay at home with the children.

That's remarkable. How does it work as a woman to have such a career? It's not something you do every day.

Just do it and don't think too much about it. Then it develops all by itself. I think we just analyze things to death from time to time.

Where did you get this confidence from?

Both my parents have always supported and encouraged me. There was only one restriction: I probably won't manage to become pope. Besides, I don't consciously look for difficulties as to why something might not work out.

The Wolfgang(Bild: Tröster Andreas)

Did things actually work out with you and the Salzburgers when you came here from Germany?

I'm just not related to everyone, or went to the same school or studied at the same university - but the people in Salzburg aren't much different to the people in Tegernsee, where I lived for a long time before. I have hardly any fear of contact anyway. You just have to get used to the environment you're in. Whether that's Shanghai or Salzburg. It also involves understanding why people react to things in a certain way. You don't always have to dissect everything you don't understand. You can also leave it as it is. Tolerance was a much-discussed topic in my childhood. My father took me and my siblings to all sorts of different places and always explained to us what was allowed and what was not.

Is there still a country or culture that you say doesn't suit you?

I think I would have found it difficult to work in India. The Indians themselves are incredibly likeable. But it would have taken me longer to get behind the thought patterns of the Indians. For example, they have a completely different understanding of time. If you make an appointment there, the agreed meeting at 12 noon can sometimes take place at 5 pm. Indians also have completely different gestures to us. That's where it would have taken me the longest to learn.

But it's really exciting to see the different cultural perspectives. Especially when you have a very strong German-Austrian background like we do. We are very individualized. In other countries, the well-being of society as a whole is more important than that of the individual.

About the person

Bettina Ganghofer was born on August 19, 1963 in Bremen, Germany. She trained as an air traffic management assistant and completed an international management master's program. In 2018, she became head of Salzburg Airport after working for Lufthansa AG and Mitteldeutsche Flughafen AG. Ganghofer lives with her husband in Salzburg. Their two grown-up children are studying in Vienna and Canada.

What else could we learn from other cultures? Or where do you personally say: This was an enrichment for my life?

Approaching new people with an open mind and trying to understand why some people do things differently. You can always decide for yourself in the end whether you want to do the same thing or not.

Why did you actually want to become head of Salzburg Airport?

After our children had left home, I thought with my husband about what we wanted to do. Then I happened to come across a job advertisement for Salzburg Airport on the Internet(laughs).

Are you still keen to travel after so many stays abroad?

There is still so much to discover! For example, I like to go on road trips.