Linz election campaign bluster

Rejection from ÖVP provincial councillor for deportation airport

FPÖ mayoral candidate Michael Raml wants to have Linz Airport converted into a terminal airport.(Bild: Krone KREATIV/Markus Wenzel, Stadt Linz/Michael Dworschak)

The idea came from the Freedom Party candidate for the mayoral election in Linz on January 12: Michael Raml suggested building a separate terminal for deportations in Hörsching. Christian Dörfel, the provincial councillor responsible for asylum in Upper Austria, has a clear opinion on the matter. 

The airport in Hörsching is owned equally by the province of Upper Austria and the city of Linz. Mayoral candidate Michael Raml (FPÖ) recently caused a stir when he presented the idea of using the airport as a deportation airport. "The airport has ideal transport connections and offers great potential," he told the "Krone" newspaper.

There are mayoral elections in Linz in four weeks' time and I see this as an election campaign maneuver. I won't say any more.

Landesrat Christian Dörfel, ÖVP

Bild: Horst Einöder/Flashpictures

Raml: "We need the runway and the infrastructure"
He has in mind the construction of a separate deportation terminal so as not to disrupt ongoing flight operations. "Essentially, we need the runway and the infrastructure - the passenger area remains untouched," says Raml.

Dörfel: "I see this as an election campaign maneuver"
The state councillor responsible for asylum in Upper Austria does not even want to comment on the content of this idea. He simply says: "There are mayoral elections in Linz in four weeks' time, I see this as an election campaign maneuver. That's all I'm going to say," says ÖVP politician Christian Dörfel.