The Austrian air traffic control Austro Control announced some time ago that the weather service, which has also been based at Innsbruck Airport up to now, is to be closed. In the future, this service will be offered centrally from Vienna-Schwechat. There has long been resistance to this. In the meantime there has even been a hearing in Parliament.

Hermann Gahr (ÖVP) brought this matter to the House in his capacity as a member of the National Council. From his point of view, it is not only about the six jobs in Innsbruck, which are to be eliminated from mid-2024 or are to be relocated to Vienna, but also about flight safety. The Tyrolean Airport is very specific due to its geographical location and pilots need special training to be allowed to take off and land here commercially. Due to the fact that Innsbruck Airport is surrounded by mountains all around, the weather can be correspondingly "moody".

Shortly after it became known that Austro Control intends to offer the flight weather service centrally from Vienna in the future and instead of relying on meteorologists working in Tyrol in the future, which are to be evaluated centrally, there was considerable criticism from all conceivable sides. Airlines, airport, town hall, state government, members of the National Council, union, pilot representatives and many others are demanding that the ACG withdraw this decision and continue to have flight weather service employees at the airport in the Tyrolean state capital.

Experts are extremely critical of ACG plans

Uniso is argued with the special geographical location. A meteorologist on site can simply recognize short-term weather changes with his human senses and quickly pass the information on to the pilots. In Innsbruck, it often happens that the area is shrouded in thick fog within a few minutes or winds that are dangerous for airplanes arise out of nowhere. The weather service is therefore not only particularly important, but pilot circles also say that the information and forecasts from Innsbruck should always be up-to-date and reliable.

In the course of the parliamentary hearing, experts, invited by MP Gahr, among others, argued that the sensors would not function reliably in bad weather. Experience with the special conditions in Innsbruck would also be necessary. While local meteorologists can recognize short-term changes and would react accordingly, this would simply not be possible from a distance. As a deterrent example, unsuccessful attempts were also made, in which the Salzburg office also took over the evaluation for Innsbruck. Interpretation from afar would have resulted in inaccurate weather reports.

Economic disadvantages for Tyrol are also feared

Ultimately, it is also about taking off and landing in less than ideal weather conditions, provided reliable information is available from the meteorologists. The pilots must be able to rely on it. If this is not the case, many would possibly switch to other airports such as Munich in the future according to the principle of “safety first”. Not only would Innsbruck Airport lose revenue, but tourists would be upset and possibly choose a different destination for their next vacation.

In any case, Gahr drew a very clear conclusion after the hearing. From his point of view, the parliamentary hearing had clearly shown that the centralization of the flight weather service would not bring the improvement in quality promised by Austro Control, but was simply intended to reduce costs. The member of the National Council now hopes that the closure of the Innsbruck and Salzburg offices can be prevented through political channels.