68,000 € rent/month

Benko does not want to give up expensive hangar luxury

A Benko jet at Innsbruck Airport: the plane is parked in an ex-AUA hangar.

(Bild: Birbaumer Christof)

The golden age of Signa is long gone, but bankrupt juggler René Benko does not want to give up his hangar at Innsbruck Airport. Someone else is now paying the 68,000 euro rent.

The Signa bankruptcies also caused serious turbulence at the home airport in Innsbruck: The airport was forced to take drastic steps after it had to throw almost 100,000 euros to the wind as a result of the bankruptcy - as reported.

Hearing in the state parliament committee
The "Krone" report in March about this fact made a number of members of the state parliament nervous. Flughafen-Betriebs-GmbH is a 100% subsidiary of the City of Innsbruck and the Province of Tyrol. Airport board member Marco Pernetta was then summoned to the non-public committee. "Is there more to come? How much more will have to be written down as a result of the Signa bankruptcy?" was the key question on the minds of the mandataries.

A Benko jet at Innsbruck Airport: the plane is parked in an ex-AUA hangar.

(Bild: Birbaumer Christof)

Airport boss answered questions
Signa had been the best private customer at Innsbruck Airport in recent years, reported airport boss Marco Pernetta according to the minutes of the hearing, which are available to the "Krone". Benko and Signa had rented an entire former AUA hangar for two aircraft and a helicopter. He had used the two aircraft regularly, almost daily. The helicopter was mainly used at weekends for flights to his home on Lake Garda. Flughafen Betriebs-GmbH charged a monthly rent of 68,000 euros (gross) for the hangar; landing and take-off fees were charged according to the price list and actual take-offs and landings.

In view of the annual turnover with Signa of 800,000 euros over the years, the loss is manageable for Innsbruck Airport.

Marco Pernetta, Direktor des Flughafens in Innsbruck

It started at the end of September 2022
There were payment delays in September 2022. "However, this didn't make us nervous at first, because it also happens with major customers that there are staff changes etc. in the accounting department from time to time and you have to wait a month or two for transfers. This was also explained to us by Signa," Pernetta explained to the committee.

Failures: Airport put the knife to Signa
But that was just the beginning: after the landing and take-off fees had not been paid for several months and there had been no response to reminders, the airport felt compelled to take harsh measures. The outstanding amounts were declared due and Signa was threatened with take-off and landing bans and the withdrawal of the hangar.

Another company stepped in
As a result, one jet was sold. Benko announced a foundation as the new contractual partner for the remaining aircraft at the airport, which were used regularly. However, the airport immediately put the knife to the company: If the rent was not received within days of the due date, the contract would lapse. "Since the beginning of the year, payment has been going smoothly," explains Pernetta in an interview with Krone. How much money does the taxpayer have to write off? "Ultimately, it's the almost 100,000 euros from two unpaid hangar rents before the new contract was signed," says Pernetta. The take-off and landing fees would be settled with another company.

If Benko should jump ship
Pernetta expects to be able to find a new tenant for the exclusive hangar quickly in the event of Benko leaving. The hangar is huge: depending on its size, up to six private aircraft can be parked in it.