The founder of the former airline Tyrolean Airways, Gernot Langes-Swarovski, died on Thursday at the age of 77 after a long illness in the presence of his immediate family. This was announced by his bereaved on Friday.

In 1978 Langes-Swarovski took over what was then Aircraft Innsbruck together with Christian Schwemberger-Swarovski. A year later, it was formed into Tyrolean Airways, which operated the first scheduled flight with de Havilland DHC-1 on April 1980, 7. Over the years Tyrolean has grown into one of the largest regional airlines in Europe.

In 1994 Austrian Airlines got in with a minority stake and then brought in its own regional subsidiary AAS Austrian Air Services. Gernot Langes-Swarovski and another shareholder sold all of their shares to Austrian Airlines in 1998. Tyrolean was continued under its own brand for a few years. Later you only flew under AUA flight numbers and at times the livery "Austrian Arrows" was used. In 2012, the flight operations of Austrian Airlines were transferred to Tyrolean and on April 1, 2015 the merger with AUA took place.

Tyrol Air Ambulance was originally part of Tyrolean Airways. In 1983 it was spun off as Tyrolean Air Ambulance Gesellschaft mbH. In 1999 the company was sold through a management buy-out and was given the current name Tyrol Air Ambulance. The ÖAMTC helicopter subsidiary Heliair also goes back to Tyrolean Airways. This division was sold to the ÖAMTC in 1995.

Business jet operator Tyrolean Jet Services is still owned by the Swarovski family to this day. In contrast to the scheduled, ambulance and helicopter flights, this was not sold and is in the air for Swarovski as well as for charter customers.