In the last few days, the Austrian aviation industry has been up in arms against the anti-aviation climate set by, among others, the Green-led Ministry of Transport. With the help of studies, statements are being refuted that portray flying as particularly harmful to the climate.

A study recently revealed that the suspension of domestic flights has not led to a shift to rail, but rather to road. The vast majority of travelers don't want to know anything about train journeys or air rail products and instead prefer to travel by car to Vienna or Munich. This results in higher carbon dioxide emissions compared to airplanes. However, this fact is not even mentioned - probably for ideological reasons - by Transport Minister Leonore Gewessler (Greens), who herself likes to use private jets. So far, they are sticking firmly to the plan that domestic flights should be “taken out of circulation”.

The Austrian Infrastructure Report 2024, presented as part of the Future Business Austria - Location and Infrastructure Symposium, documents clear recommendations for action from local managers for the future of Austria's aviation infrastructure. The representative survey for the Austrian Infrastructure Report 2024 states corresponding future expectations for domestic aviation policy: 73 percent of those surveyed would like Vienna Airport's role as an aviation hub to be secured and expanded. 56 percent of local business decision-makers also expect that the capacities of domestic airports should be increased and multimodal connections improved. “The targeted infrastructure expansion is of immense importance for the local business location and ensures prosperity, growth and jobs. This applies in particular to the aviation infrastructure,” said Vienna Airport board member Günther Ofner.

“Aviation is often attacked for ideological reasons without taking the facts into account. This criticism is unjustified, as aviation's global share of CO2 emissions is only around 2,7 percent. Within Europe this proportion is even lower, namely 0,52 percent, and in Austria it is only 0,16 percent. And the path to CO2-neutral aviation is marked by the gradual increase in the use of e-fuels by 2050. Promoting the use of e-fuels would enable an immediate, clearly calculable CO2 reduction and would be the order of the day. Calls for the discontinuation of flights within Austria do nothing, they only make traveling unnecessarily more difficult. “Many people switch to cars or to foreign hubs after flight connections are no longer available,” explains Dr. Günther Ofner.