"Krone" Looks Back

The History of the Crisis at Linz Airport

A glimpse of days gone by: The Concorde’s first landing in Linz in 1981 drew huge crowds.(Bild: Flughafen Linz)

Turbulent times in Hörsching: New owners are set to pull the financially struggling Linz Airport out of the red. Yet things were still going quite well just a few years ago. “Krone” looks back and ahead.

The deal is done; all that’s missing is approval from the state legislature, the city council, and the antitrust authority: As reported, the state of Upper Austria is buying the city of Linz’s 50 percent stake in the airport for 1.3 million euros for now. The deal marks the preliminary culmination of a turbulent period in Linz-Hörsching. The “Krone” takes a look back—and ahead.

• The 2000s
  From the last century through the 2000s, Linz Airport enjoyed steady growth. Passenger numbers peaked in 2008 at more than 800,000. By comparison, the figure the previous year had been around 260,000.

• The COVID-19 Years
  With the pandemic, passenger numbers plummeted as air travel came to a virtual standstill. As a result, the airport slipped into the red in 2020 and gradually began to deplete its financial reserves.

• June 2025
  This situation escalated to the point where the State of Upper Austria and the City of Linz were finally forced to provide financial assistance for the first time in June 2025, approving an eight-million-euro bailout for the airport.

• October 2025
  Things get even worse, because in the fall of the previous year, AUA discontinues the route to Frankfurt. The reason: The route was unprofitable and, according to “Krone” reports, had most recently posted a loss of five million euros.

• March 2026
  The Danish airline DAT resumes the Linz–Frankfurt route—with substantial financial support from the State of Upper Austria, which will provide up to 36 million euros over four years. In the first few months, the resumed route operates at about one-third capacity.

• September 2026
  Against the backdrop of financial turmoil, the State of Upper Austria and the City of Linz are negotiating over the airport shares. Subject to approval by all necessary authorities, the state will become the sole owner.

What’s Next
The state government intends to sell up to 49 percent of the shares to private investors. The process is to be initiated as soon as possible, preferably before the end of this year. At the same time, a change in the airport’s management is imminent: Current CEO Norbert Draskovits is retiring, and German manager Jörg Ebbighausen will take over sole management by the end of the year at the latest. He has a lot of work ahead of him...