Airport balance in Austria: Linz and Klagenfurt record declines

While most Austrian airports have recently seen growth, Linz and Klagenfurt airports have seen sharp declines in their passenger numbers.

Vienna-Schwechat Airport is consolidating its position as the largest airport in the country and is responsible for a large part of the growth in passengers. In the first nine months of the year, it recorded 24,12 million travelers, an increase of 7,2 percent compared to the previous year. This means that Vienna remains a central hub for international flights and benefits from its strong connections to European and intercontinental flight routes. The number of flight movements at Vienna-Schwechat also rose by 5,9 percent to 167.476 takeoffs and landings. This is a sign of the high demand and the continuous expansion of the flight offering at Vienna Airport.

Salzburg and Graz benefit from increasing demand

Salzburg Airport also saw an increase in passenger numbers by 10,2 percent to 1,42 million, making it the second-largest airport in Austria. With its proximity to popular tourist destinations such as the Salzburg Alps, Salzburg has a strong international influx, especially during the summer and winter seasons.

Graz, the fourth largest airport, recorded an impressive growth of 17 percent, bringing the total to 643.197 travelers. Both airports benefited from their regional market and also attracted domestic travelers who took advantage of the increasing flight connections.

Difficult situation for Linz and Klagenfurt: Passenger decline despite market upturn

Linz Airport, on the other hand, had to contend with a difficult balance sheet. With 148.555 passengers handled by the end of September 2024, it recorded a decline of 22,6 percent, meaning that around one in five passengers was lost compared to the previous year. This is a sobering development for the airport, which has already been faced with declining numbers in recent years.

Linz Airport is struggling with the problem that a large proportion of its passengers prefer to use Salzburg or Vienna airports, which offer a larger selection of destinations. In addition, there is a lack of strong flight connections that could better position Linz Airport internationally.

Klagenfurt Airport is also in a difficult situation. The number of passengers fell by 14,3 percent to 108.189. These declines are particularly burdensome for smaller airports such as Linz and Klagenfurt, as they are in direct competition with neighboring, larger airports and have fewer resources available to invest in new routes or larger infrastructure.

Reduced flight movements and increased efficiency at smaller airports

Part of the challenge for smaller airports is the reduction in flight movements. In Linz, take-offs and landings fell by 11,9 percent to a total of 2.531, while Innsbruck and Klagenfurt recorded similar developments with declines of 12,3 and 11,3 percent respectively.

The decline in flight movements shows the strong competition from the larger airports and the need to cut costs in operations. At the same time, the smaller airports are trying to improve their efficiency by reducing flight movements and increasing their competitiveness through targeted investments, such as those made in Klagenfurt to modernize handling.

Reasons and perspectives: What could help Linz and Klagenfurt?

The reasons for this development are varied and include competition with larger airports as well as structural problems. The falling figures reflect the challenges faced by small airports, which have to find a niche in an increasingly globalised market in order to remain profitable.

One possible approach could be to promote domestic flights within Austria or to work more closely with low-cost carriers in order to be able to offer a wider range of destinations. Cooperation with larger airports in the context of freight transport could also improve capacity utilization and lead to economic relief. However, subsidizing domestic flights is currently almost unthinkable for political reasons, but who knows what a new government will come up with to better connect the state airports to the Vienna hub.

Marketing strategies that highlight the advantages of smaller airports, such as short waiting times and smaller crowds, could also boost demand. Another approach would be to tailor certain routes more to the needs of business travelers and target this target group with specially tailored flight schedules and services.