Austria's largest airport, Vienna-Schwechat, reacts to a broadcast by the environmental organization Greenpeace and contradicts it diametrically. In the headline of the media statement, the airport even speaks of "clumsy propaganda".

The climate issue is generally very sensitive and the most varied of views are represented. For this reason, Aviation Direct brings the information from Greenpeace and Flughafen Wien AG in two separate articles that appear at the same time. In order to be able to offer readers the greatest possible decision-making options, the articles were also edited by different editors of the Aviation Direct team. The environmental organization's point of view is read at this link.

In its media statement, Flughafen Wien AG refers to a current study by Eurocontrol that was carried out this year. Among other things, this comes to the conclusion that short-haul flights are "often indispensable feeder flights for medium and long-haul connections". Furthermore: “One of the key messages is that these cannot currently be replaced by the railways, because in many cases the rail services are not available or are insufficient. The necessary rail expansion will not only take decades, but will also devour enormous billions ”.

Flughafen Wien AG also argues on the basis of the Eurocontrol study that short-haul flights make up 24,1 percent of all connections in Europe. The proportion of carbon dioxide emissions should therefore be 3,8 percent. Seen worldwide, aviation would be responsible for 2,7 percent of carbon dioxide emissions. In Europe for 0,52 percent in Austria for 0,16 percent.

Vienna Airport points to a high proportion of transfers

The largest airport in Austria also states that the proportion of transfers is very high on many short-haul routes. The Munich route is given as an example. Among other things, one writes: “The transfer share on the Vienna-Munich flight connection is 80%. There is no efficient rail connection - Munich Airport can only be reached by rail by express train via Munich Central Station. The night train connections to Frankfurt, Brussels or Paris with travel times of 10 hours and more also make it almost impossible to change to onward flights: in most cases the train arrives too late at the airport and therefore requires an additional night or there is simply no long-distance train connection to the respective one Airport".

For Vienna, it is argued that around 70 percent of Austrian Airlines passengers who use short-haul flights of less than 400 kilometers change trains in the federal capital. "55 percent of long-haul routes are used by transfer passengers, and 65 percent of those on Eastern European connections," said Vienna Airport. “A ban on short-haul flights to Vienna would only result in travelers using flight connections to other more distant airports, as the example Graz-Vienna shows: Over 90 percent of travelers from Graz to Vienna take other medium- and long-haul flights at Vienna Airport around. If this feeder flight were banned, the travelers either get into the car or another plane to Frankfurt or Munich - but certainly not into the train, which still takes more than 2 hours for this route ”.

Trains and flights should complement each other

Flughafen Wien AG also takes the view that it is not expedient for so-called climate protectors to oppose the plane and train as a means of transport. It would make more sense if these complement each other. “The Linz-Vienna rail link shows that both transport systems can successfully complement each other. Vienna Airport has been calling for a similar expansion of the railway to the east for many years. Night trains to inner-European capitals with journey times of more than 10 hours, sometimes with several transfers, are useful as a supplement, but are not a viable and competitive alternative to aviation for business travelers, ”said Vienna Airport.

In conclusion, Austria's largest airport draws the following conclusion: "Greenpeace's demands for a ban on short-haul flights appear counterproductive and irresponsible for Vienna Airport at a time when domestic aviation and tourism are still deeply involved in coping with the Corona crisis : Over 90.000 jobs all over Austria depend on aviation. The right way for climate-friendly flying is to promote the large-scale market introduction of CO2-neutral alternative fuels through subsidies and admixture obligations. The technology to produce synthetic kerosene already exists. Flight-related taxes should be used earmarked as funding for research and development as well as the introduction of statutory admixture obligations. That would stimulate a far-reaching demand for alternative fuels and thus create a corresponding market and would be a predictable and secure path to CO2 reduction ”.