Vienna Airport record

Jäger: “We know where our weaknesses are”

(Bild: krone.tv )

In an interview with krone.tv, Julian Jäger, CEO of Vienna Airport, looks back on a successful 2024: "With over 31 million passengers, we had the best result in the entire history of the airport. It was even 50,000 passengers more than 2019, the best year to date. And then came the pandemic."

During the coronavirus years, the number of passengers dropped drastically, but then rose again dramatically in 2023 and 2024. Jäger: "And this despite major geopolitical crises such as Israel-Gaza and the war in Ukraine. Once the war is over, there will soon be a resumption of flights to Kiev, Ryanair has already announced this. I'm not so sure about the connections to Moscow at the moment." In general, Terminal 3 is currently being expanded at the airport. A total of 70,000 square meters are to be added, which corresponds to the area of ten soccer pitches. Jäger: "We know where our weaknesses are and therefore want to offer passengers at Terminal 3 significantly more quality in future and become a five-star airport.

There are very few of these in Europe. Vienna Airport will be one of them once the terminal opens." The long-standing airport boss estimates whether the third runway will ultimately be built as follows: "I have been saying for years that we will decide in 2026, perhaps as early as this autumn." That would depend on the very specific requirements, the building permits and the construction costs. Jäger: "The construction costs have of course risen sharply due to the cost increases in recent years. We are currently calculating everything very carefully."

Julian Jäger, Member of the Management Board of Vienna Airport(Bild: krone.tv )

More police operations
In general, however, police operations at the airport would also increase. Jäger: "Yes, we have noticed that there are more assaults. For example, in disputes with passengers when additional costs are incurred due to excessively large items of luggage. Or at security checks, where it is not accepted that certain items cannot be taken on board. However, we have a zero-tolerance policy here."

Trend destinations
According to the airport board, the most popular trend destinations are short-haul and long-haul. Jäger: "Summer destinations clearly dominate the short-haul segment. Antalya leads ahead of Barcelona and Mallorca. Crete is in fourth place. By contrast, we still have a quarter less traffic to Germany than before corona. This is also due to the fact that there are now fewer business travelers. On the long-haul route, Bangkok again clearly dominates ahead of New York and Taipei."