Authorities challenged

“Deeply relaxed”: Behind the scenes at Airpower

Governor Christopher Drexler, District Governor Nina Pölzl and Military Commander Heinz Zöllner

(Bild: Pail Sepp/Sepp Pail)

The weather is not playing ball - apart from that, those responsible for Airpower are satisfied with how things have gone so far. One and a half years of preparation culminate in two days of events with up to 300,000 visitors. "I am deeply relaxed," says District Governor Nina Pölzl.

Major events are nothing out of the ordinary in the Murtal district, with Formula 1 and the Motorcycle World Championships taking place at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg every year. This year, the Airpower air show has been added as the third "caliber".

Intensive preparations have been underway behind the scenes for one and a half years. No fewer than 6500 employees are working on the site - that's almost the population of Zeltweg. "I am overwhelmed by the professional organization," says Governor Christopher Drexler when he visited the operations team - housed far away from the actual event site - on Friday morning.

Traffic calmed down early
Concentrated work on laptops is the order of the day here, with detailed schedules hanging on the walls. Cameras keep an eye on what is happening. The Austrian Armed Forces are in charge, but of course other emergency organizations such as the police, fire department and Red Cross are also represented. Even representatives of the crisis intervention team are on site. "Everything really does go hand in hand," says a satisfied Pölzl.

As always, traffic is a major issue. "Normally there is a large influx of people until 1 p.m., but this time it has already slowed down almost four hours earlier, shortly after 9 a.m.," says the provincial traffic department. The rainy weather is likely to deter many from visiting Airpower. However, it is to be expected that the rush on Saturday will be all the greater.