The Austrian air traffic control Austro Control believes that they are well prepared for the summer of 2022. The number of flights is already said to be close to the pre-crisis level, with increased use of Austrian airspace expected during the main travel season.

After the traffic slump in aviation due to the corona pandemic, things are now looking up again. While traffic was even weaker at the beginning of the year due to the Omikron variants, air traffic is again approaching the level of 2019. In the overflight, the air traffic figures from 2019 have already been reached and, according to forecasts, should even be exceeded in the summer. More than 3.500 flight movements per day are then expected for Austrian airspace, currently there are around 3.000. For Vienna Airport, the traffic level with around 650 take-offs and landings per day is currently around 80% and is expected to increase to around 90% over the summer compared to 2019.

The ACG emphasizes that the time during the crisis was used to train the controllers and prepare them for handling a higher volume of traffic again. Due to the low frequency of live traffic, this was increasingly ensured through training in the simulator. Furthermore, Austro Control announced that the training had been continued during the low-traffic period and the number of staff had increased. This will enable the summer of 2022 to be able to optimally control the airspace.

As part of an applicant day, which will be held on June 11, 2022, we are again looking for high school graduates who are interested in the profession of air traffic controller. The training lasts around three years and takes place at the Austro Control training center in Vienna. Around 340 air traffic controllers currently work at Austro Control. Up to 40 trainees are accepted each year. Applications are possible at any time.