On Tuesday an absurd incident occurred on an Austrian Airlines flight from Innsbruck to Vienna. On board was the FPÖ member of the National Council, Peter Wurm, who was "welcomed" by the executive after landing in Vienna. The politician claims that this was done because the crew didn't like the way he put his mouth and nose mask on.

What actually happened on board is completely unclear. The representations are very far apart. The member of the National Council says that he took off his MNS mask to drink. This would also be permissible, because the cabin crew expressly indicates in announcements that the mouth and nose protection may be removed for a short time when eating and drinking. The politician insists on this and posts a “photo evidence” on social media, on which he can be seen with a correctly fitting mask and a 0,5 liter PET water bottle.

In view of the fact that numerous FPÖ politicians publicly rumble against mouth and nose protection, it cannot be ruled out that the incident was a deliberate staging. Again and again the media reports that high-ranking politicians of this party are supposed to refuse to wear the masks in many places. In this respect, a deliberate provocation, including police operations and subsequent video reports on FPÖ-TV, would definitely fit into this scheme.

Austrian Airlines does not want to go into the specific incident and generally points out that wearing mouth and nose protection is anchored in the conditions of carriage. The consequence of this is that with the purchase you commit yourself to compliance and thus also to the correct use of an MNS mask. However, there are exceptions: for example, small children are exempt. People who for health reasons cannot be expected to wear an MNS mask must submit a certificate on a form and an extremely recent, negative PCR test.

From AUA circles, however, one can also hear that the same FPÖ member of the National Council, who is often on the Innsbruck-Vienna-Innsbruck route, is said to have repeatedly had similar problems. In secret, flight attendants told Aviation.Direct that the politician is supposed to be very unapologetic and that he is planning on long discussions.

This is exactly where Peter Wurm comes in again, who claims that the cabin crew had been arguing with him for almost the entire duration of the flight. He wanted to know the name of the senior flight attendant so that he could complain to her employer. The crew must obviously have called the executive over the radio. The politician claims that he has been labeled a rioter. After landing, Wurm was questioned by the police about the facts. There was expressly no arrest. In any case, Wurm, who is also bothered by the fact that in his opinion there is no longer any service in economy class and you have to buy the water yourself in duty free at your own expense, wants to complain to Austrian Airlines. So you can look forward to the reaction of customer service, which was outsourced abroad a long time ago.