The money is intended to support the sector, but how the funds will be used has not yet been decided. The airports would like to see a reduction in the flight tax.
The government supports air travel. Imago
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The federal government is providing the Austrian aviation industry with 30 million euros annually as part of the double budget for 2027/2028. The money is intended to support the sector in the face of geopolitical uncertainties, the Ministry of Transport said. However, it is not yet clear how the funds will be used specifically. If the industry has its way, the aim is to reduce the flight tax. A decision should be made by the end of September.
In any case, the funds are intended to help “strengthen the resilience of the Austrian aviation location to geopolitical and energy policy upheavals” and to be able to “respond quickly to possible supply bottlenecks and market upheavals,” according to the SPÖ-led department. To this end, “a structured dialogue with airlines, airports and other players in the industry” is now being started. The Iran war recently not only drove up oil prices, it also raised concerns about a shortage of supply and a shortage of kerosene.
The Association of Austrian Airports (AÖV) and Vienna Airport welcomed the support and called for the money to be used to reduce the flight tax. Today in Austria “the third highest flight tax in Europe applies to short-haul flights, while 19 others EU-States do not collect such a tax at all. This makes it increasingly difficult for domestic airports to remain competitive and to motivate airlines to start new flight connections to their locations,” writes the AÖV in a reaction. For the board members of Vienna Airport, Julian Jäger and Günther Ofnera reduction would therefore be the “most important measure to strengthen Austrian aviation and thus the entire business and tourism location”.
On the part of Austrian Airlines (AUA) said that they were looking forward to “quickly entering into concrete discussions with politicians”. The money is a “first step”, but it does not need a “crisis band-aid”, “but rather sustainably effective structural measures and competitive framework conditions to secure growth, employment and international connections in the long term”. And: “Our position on the flight tax is known: We are convinced that a competitive design of the tax system will strengthen Austria’s international connections.” The “Krone” had previously reported on the 60 million euros for air traffic.
