As soon as the Austrian government announced the rescue package for Austrian Airlines, numerous OTS mailings are already being sent. Here is a summary of the reactions.

WKÖ General Secretary Karlheinz Kopf welcomes the package presented today by the Federal Government to support Austrian Airlines: “The package is far more than a safety net for a systemically important company. The location guarantee is important for an internationally successful aviation location Vienna and the entire tourism and business location Austria. Because many upstream and downstream industries related to the AUA benefit from the safeguarding of the Vienna-Schwechat hub. This not only creates and secures added value, but also many thousands of jobs in Austria. "

“The commitment to long-haul routes, which is particularly relevant for tourism and business travel, is particularly encouraging. However, it is also important that the AUA make a clear commitment to fully comply with the existing legal obligation to reimburse advance payments made to travel agencies, ”stressed Kopf. Kopf also welcomes today's approval of the workforce to the KV agreement at Laudamotion as another sensible decision in favor of Austria as an aviation location.

“The rescue package presented today for the AUA is a crash landing in terms of climate policy. The government sinks tax money in a fossil fuel company and fails to set ambitious climate conditions. In doing so, it contradicts its own goal of climate neutrality for Austria by 2040. In addition, the already low reduction targets threaten to degenerate into empty promises if clearly defined control mechanisms and penalties are missing in the event of a deviation, ”warns Jasmin Duregger, climate and energy expert at Greenpeace. To make matters worse, the reduction is not less, but more efficient flying is the focus. “It's not about replacing old aircraft with new ones or saving a few percent CO2. What we need is an immediate ban on short journeys, true costs thanks to the kerosene tax and investments in climate-friendly rather than climate-damaging mobility, ”said Duregger.

“The conditions for AUA rescue show that the federal government has ignored our demands,” says Simon Pories (18) from Fridays for Future Vienna and adds: “What is being sold to us here as greening is a joke: The construction of new aircraft for alleged increase in efficiency will ultimately lead to even more emissions and resource consumption. What is finally needed is a significant reduction in air traffic instead of a guarantee of location, which will have the opposite effect. "

“It is positive that some unnecessary short-haul flights are now eliminated and the expansion of railways is increased, but we must finally tackle the dismantling of tax privileges for air traffic. It is unfair that airlines are being rescued from the general tax pot, but are making comparatively little contribution to filling it. The federal government should therefore quickly resume the work it began in February on an eco-social tax reform, ”emphasizes Johannes Wahlmüller, climate and energy spokesman for GLOBAL 2000.

“Austria will be the first EU member to introduce anti-dumping regulations and thus enable minimum prices for flights. No more flight tickets for less than 40 euros. The red card is to be shown to the predatory capitalism of the low-cost airlines, "says GREEN traffic spokesman Hermann Weratschnig and also considers the change in airport charges to be essential to protect the climate and reduce aircraft noise.

“For me as a Tyrolean member of parliament, it is clear that, as in many other regions, we need to improve daytime rail connections in order to have good alternatives to air traffic. With € 500 million for new and more comfortable night trains, we will make a quantum leap in the traffic transition. With the improvement of rail connections at off-peak times from Graz, Klagenfurt and Innsbruck to Vienna, these flight connections are becoming obsolete. Nobody needs these climate-damaging short-haul flights. AUA can concentrate on international connectivity and serve long-haul routes with more quality, ”Weratschnig is convinced that air traffic will change massively.

“Securing the Vienna location is important. The government must now show, however, that the agreement will not be misused for further post-charter and that it is about the interests of the taxpayers. "Schellhorn is addressing the newly created supervisory board positions," which must certainly not be abused again to ensure that the ÖVP provides their friends with lucrative jobs. "

He sees the guarantee of the Vienna location as positive, but it is not clear what will happen to the 150 million in detail. "The money must now secure jobs and must not be used to finance expensive special pensions." It cannot be that all taxpayers are now taking hundreds of millions of euros into their hands to rescue Austrian Airlines and the active staff repeatedly with salary cuts while a few insist on their special pensions. "I expect solidarity with the current staff here," said Schellhorn.

“Without a strong home carrier, it would no longer be possible to maintain Vienna's international hub function. The consequence would be a painful emigration of important companies, the loss of jobs and a severe relapse in the international competition for locations. But now it looks like a safe landing. The Viennese economy would like to thank the federal government and Lufthansa ”, says Walter Ruck, President of the Vienna Chamber of Commerce. Jerk continues: “The ten-year location guarantee and the associated safeguarding of the Eastern and Southeastern European headquarters in Vienna is also particularly important. With this agreement there are only winners. "

With the assurance of a state subsidy of 150 million euros and loan guarantees worth 300 million euros from the republic, according to Hörl, "appropriate and strategically sensible obligations in the interests of taxpayers are anchored."

Aside from this positive news for the company and the location, Hörl calls for a central specification, which must be included as a requirement against AUA: “Austrian travel agencies are particularly affected by the Austrian situation, which have already made millions in advance payments and have not paid a cent so far have seen again. This has sometimes meant that the first companies had to lock up, ”emphasizes Walser. It could therefore not be the case that AUA should be relieved of its duty here and that this essential question should be excluded from the location agreement. "Help for the German Lufthansa Group with tax money can only be given if it reimburses the down payments to local travel agencies," said Hörl and Walser, because one thing could not be allowed: "The AUA cannot withhold 200 million and collect 450 million at the same time ! ”

FPÖ federal party chairman sees NAbg as a “fatal mistake”. Norbert Hofer the state aid for the AUA without real protection of the location through a participation in the extent of the blocking minority: “Austria's negotiators were ripped off by Carsten Spohr. Amateurs played against a professional. And they gambled away the future of the location in the process. The AUA remains only a grace period. "

“The black-green government is not thinking of a permanent safeguard for the AUA, but is only pushing the problem into future legislative periods. For Austria, the long-term well-being of the employees and the AUA itself must come first. This solution, which has now become known, is not one that permanently corresponds to their interests, ”emphasized Hofer.

"With the agreement on state support measures for Austrian Airlines, we have succeeded in securing one of the essential infrastructure pillars of Austria as a business location," said Georg Kapsch, President of the Federation of Industrialists (IV), pleased with the outcome of today's talks between AUA and the Austrian federal government. “Let's not forget that the company, as Austria's leading company, not only secures thousands of jobs itself, which can now be maintained. More than 6.000 suppliers also depend on AUA, including the jobs and added value associated with it - and 60.000 tons of freight are transported by it every year ”.