Austria's State Secretary for Aviation Magnus Brunner (ÖVP) rules out domestic carriers such as Austrian Airlines being imposed on only passengers who have proof of a Covid-19 vaccination, but the international trend will probably be in this Go direction.

The member of the government said in an interview he gave to the APA that it is to be expected that in future the vaccination card and passport will have to be presented upon entry in many countries. He also points out that efforts are already being made at international level to ask when booking a flight whether or not a vaccination against Covid-19 is available. Appropriate preparations aimed at implementation in the reservation system would already be underway.

Brunner explains that the airlines are free to ask for proof of vaccination or not. However, this could arise indirectly if states make such proof as a condition for entry. The ÖVP politician cites Austrian as an example, because Downunder is currently discussing this step intensively.

Regarding Austrian Airlines, Magnus Brunner also said that the Austrian federal government does not anticipate that further state aid will be needed. The Republic of Austria picked up the Lufthansa subsidiary in the previous year with 600 million euros. The State Secretary believes that air traffic "will return to normal in the summer of 2021." However, he does not want to completely rule out that the AUA will again knock on the state for money. "At the moment we are assuming that no further additional government aid is required, but of course it depends on the virological development."

AUA sought government support regarding ex-manager pensions

In an interview with Vorarlberger Nachrichten, the member of the government said on this subject: “The AUA is now focusing very heavily on the cargo area, and it also makes use of short-time work. Now the vaccination is just around the corner. I am confident that she will get by without another aid package. ”When asked whether it was true that the Lufthansa subsidiary had to spend on company pensions for former board members and managers in 2019, when asked whether it was true that the Lufthansa subsidiary had to spend on company pensions for former board members and managers Pensioners were asked to give their consent to the cuts: “The AUA approached the federal government with a request for support. I have a certain understanding of the matter, but legally it is not that easy. We will examine the possibilities. ”The Federal Government will“ take a close look ”at Austrian Airlines' concerns. First, however, Brunner sees the social partners on the train. There must be talks here first.

Transport Minister Leonore Gewessler (Greens) announced in spring 2020 that minimum prices for flight tickets will be charged in the future. Shortly afterwards, State Secretary Magnus Brunner expressed himself quite critical of the implementation. Various legal experts are of the opinion that this should not be possible under European law. The deadline of September 1, 2020 given by Gewessler could not be met. Since then, the issue has been suspiciously quiet. Brunner told the UN: “We are currently working on preventing dumping prices on flight tickets. In terms of European law, we are examining how we can produce more cost accuracy. "