In contrast to the airports in Vienna and Klagenfurt, the airports in Salzburg, Innsbruck, Linz and Graz have not received any corona aid from the state-run Cofag. The federal state airports feel discriminated against and have taken the matter to court.

The airports of Innsbruck, Salzburg and Linz have filed a joint lawsuit before the Vienna Regional Court. The aim is to establish that you are entitled to aid funds that have been distributed via Cofag. In the first instance one was defeated. However, the process has not been completed because the federal state airports mentioned are appealing.

While Vienna and Klagenfurt were able to take advantage of Cofag's help due to the fact that they have private majority owners, the other federal state airports looked into the tube. The funding conditions were designed in such a way that companies that are majority-owned by the public sector are fundamentally excluded. This is exactly what Linz, Salzburg and Innsbruck do not want to accept, because the airports are organized as private companies with limited liability and are fundamentally geared towards profit.

In addition to the civil lawsuit, which was dismissed in the first instance before the Vienna Regional Court, proceedings are also being conducted before the Constitutional and Administrative Court. In concrete terms, this means that there are currently three different court proceedings. The plaintiffs, i.e. the three federal state airports mentioned, hope that it will be determined that the reason for the exclusion is discriminatory and therefore illegal. Ultimately, you want to ensure that you subsequently receive corona funds from the Cofag pot.

On the part of the federal government, one cannot get much out of the matter and sees the owners of the airports as having a duty. Depending on the location, these are the federal states and/or cities. To put it simply: The federal government does not want to help the regional airports, but takes the view that the states and/or municipalities have to do this. The state governments are upset that Klagenfurt and Vienna have received Cofag funds, even though the public sector is also involved. The main difference, however, is that in Carinthia and the federal capital, the majority is in private hands.

The Linz airport director Norbert Draskovits explained to the Oberösterreich-Krone, among other things, that one feels unfairly treated. When asked about the lawsuit, which the Vienna Regional Court dismissed in the first instance, he said: "It was clear that we needed staying power." An appeal is being lodged with Innsbruck and Salzburg, so that the matter is now pending before the Vienna Higher Regional Court.