The relocation of the Lauda base from Vienna to Malta is still a topic of conversation. The Vida union now sees the Austrian government as an obligation.

"Escape from the Austrian case law and from regulated working conditions in order to be able to continue to flood the Austrian market with dumping price tickets at the expense of the staff", reacts Daniel Liebhart, chairman of the aviation department, to the withdrawal of Laudamotion from Vienna. In general, this was foreseeable. Because as early as the summer of 2019, the company began “trampling under Austrian law and establishing its own legal system in Austria,” Liebhart continued.

Politicians must put a stop to such an approach in the industry - "suspicious" airlines should be controlled by the authorities in the future. And pay fines if they don't follow the general rules of the game. In addition, the trade unionist calls for two further measures against wage and social dumping: the implementation of a fair industry collective agreement or enabling the CT statutes for airlines as well as sufficiently high fees at Vienna Airport and air traffic control. "The low-price policy for airport charges acts like a magnet on low-cost airlines and dumping prices," said Liebhart.

If the responsible authorities do not take the initiative quickly, the corona pandemic could be just one of many problems at Vienna Airport. “We see that those airlines that try to deal fairly with their employees and actively participate in the social partnership are coming more and more under pressure from the price drivers. There is therefore justified concern, should the first measures not be taken in the coming weeks against the fact that only the dumping airlines could survive the much-cited 'bloodbath at Vienna Airport' ”, said the Vida unionist.

The employee representatives at the Ryanair subsidiary make no friends with these sharp statements. Employees of the airline also criticize Vida’s approach: “We pay our taxes in Austria as normal. The company also pays its social security contributions here, ”a Lauda Europe pilot told Aviation.Direct. In addition, he does not understand why the union is demanding higher fees and an industry KV in the middle of the industry's biggest crisis. This would put an additional burden on the already ailing airlines.