Gateway to the world

Our airport: on the rise for 70 years

(Bild: Andreas Hofer)

Vienna Airport has been Austria's gateway to the world since 1954! The first scheduled flights took off from Vienna Airport 70 years ago. It has been on the rise ever since!

A small airfield became the international hub of Europe: it all began with the handover of the then still spartan airport facility by the British occupying power to the Republic of Austria in 1954. The take-offs and landings of the few aircraft set the course for an incredible development: In its first year of operation, 64,000 travelers frequented the airport - today, the number of passengers has grown to around 30 million per year.

(Bild: zVg)

Originally used as a military airfield by the German Air Force, Vienna Airport as we know and appreciate it today only got the go-ahead after the end of the Second World War. During the occupation, the British handed over their Royal Air Force Station Schwechat, which they had taken over in 1945, to Austria. January 1, 1954 marks the birth of Flughafen Wien Betriebsgesellschaft m.b.H., which at the time was owned 50 percent by the federal government and 25 percent each by Lower Austria and Vienna.

Era of growth
The aviation industry flourishes in the late 1950s and 1960s. When Austrian Airlines AG was founded in 1957, Vienna Airport became its proud home base, which it still is today. The first flight to London took place on March 31, 1958. Terminal 2 was opened in 1960 and is still in operation today.

(Bild: zVg)

14 airlines operated regular flights. Just six years later, the airport breaks the 1 million passenger mark for the first time. In 1969 - the year of the moon landing - Austrian launches its first transatlantic flight to New York.

Dark times
During the reign of the National Socialists, monstrous crimes are committed on the present site. A memorial designed by artist Arik Brauer commemorates the horrific ordeals of thousands of concentration camp prisoners and forced laborers. They were forced to build Heinkel airplanes under inhumane conditions. The attack by the terrorist group Abu Nidal at the check-in counter of the Israeli airline EL AL on December 27, 1985 also brought dark hours. Three people were killed and dozens injured.

A spirit of optimism
The fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 is regarded as a positive milestone. This event moves the airport even closer to the center of Europe - it becomes the leading hub to the East. This upswing is reflected in the IPO in 1992. Today, this share is one of the most successful airport shares in the world with a value of 4.3 billion euros.

Steady expansion
However, the absolute flight altitude has not yet been reached. Another success story: in 2011, the 20 million passenger mark is broken. At the same time, the location changes significantly. The construction of Europe's tallest airport tower to date, the opening of the new Terminal 3 and the expansion of AirportCity with Office Park 4 impressively shape the silhouette.

(Bild: Flughafen Wien)

The airport receives the 4-star rating from Skytrax and the "Best Airport Staff Europe" award several times for its high quality. 2019 sees the highest passenger record to date with 31.7 million. A few months later, however, the pandemic puts the brakes on. The biggest crisis in global aviation does not spare Vienna Airport: at the peak of Covid, passenger numbers fall by 99% to just a few hundred travelers per day.

New passenger boom
But the airport is recovering quickly: as restrictions are increasingly eased, travelers are returning and passenger numbers are returning to pre-crisis growth. The airport is expecting around 30 million passengers this year.

(Bild: Andreas Hofer)

"The success story of our airport is due to many people: the pioneering spirit of the generation that built it, our customers and business partners and all people who love to travel, as well as our great and committed team and our shareholders who have always supported us. As Austria's calling card and gateway to the world, we will continue to develop the airport and strive for customer friendliness on a daily basis."

Mag. Julian Jäger, Dr. Günther Ofner, Vorstände der Flughafen Wien AG

More than 60 airlines currently operate direct flights from Vienna to 190 destinations in 67 countries worldwide. With more than 23,000 employees in 250 companies, the location is the largest employer in the eastern region. The airport has been in good and solution-oriented contact with its neighbors for more than 20 years. With the commissioning of one of Austria's largest PV systems and other measures, Vienna Airport has been operating on a_CO2-neutral basis since 2023.

(Bild: (c) ZOOMVP.AT)

With the construction of the south terminal extension (planned commissioning in 2027) and the legally binding approval for the 3rd runway, the course has been set for the future. Experts expect the number of passengers worldwide to double by 2050. 80 percent of the world's population have never flown and they too want to and will travel. And hopefully many of them will travel via Vienna Airport ...

All information online at viennaairport.com/70years