"Everyone is nervous"

Crisis

Air travel is booming - but for how much longer? The development of the economy will also have consequences for airlines and therefore airports.

(Bild: Wenzel Markus)

More than 3,600 affected employees, 750 of whom will lose their jobs - that is the extent of the insolvency at motorcycle manufacturer KTM known to date. Suppliers to the Mattighofen-based company are threatened with a major bloodletting, and other sectors and companies are also in crisis. The situation is also causing the travel industry to tremble.

A record summer in 2024, 24.1 million passengers after three quarters and thus an increase of more than seven percent, turnover climbing towards the billion mark - all these could be reasons for Vienna Airport CEO Julian Jäger to sit back and relax. But the manager from Pupping is not.

Jäger is not closing his eyes to the economic developments in Austria, which are causing a series of crisis reports: the insolvency at KTM, the cost-cutting package at automotive supplier Stiwa, Schaeffler's decision to close its plant in Berndorf, plus cost-cutting packages and efficiency improvement programs wherever you look.

"I think as Europe and as an economic nation, we have to fight hard to maintain the prosperity we have earned," says Jäger. Does Vienna Airport already feel that the domestic industry is in recession and the symptoms of the crisis are becoming increasingly visible? "It's arriving a little later at the airports. The first to feel the economic downturn are the airlines. Because they see it every day in the ticket prices they impose. What I'm currently hearing is that bookings for Christmas and the first quarter are very good," says the 53-year-old. But what comes after that?

We have recovered very, very quickly from the pandemic and are very, very satisfied with the current situation. But we expect it to become more difficult to continue growing.

Julian Jäger, Vorstand des Flughafens Wien, über den Ausblick auf 2025

"Expect conditions to become more difficult"
Unemployment in Austria is on the rise, companies are cutting costs or have even started to falter - this will leave its mark. "I expect conditions to become more difficult," says Jäger. Because if people have less income at their disposal, ticket prices will also have to fall. This in turn affects the airlines, which adjust their capacities in such cases. What do such capacity adjustments look like? That varies from airline to airline, says the Vienna Airport boss. It could be that frequencies are reduced, fewer aircraft are stationed or "that growth that was planned does not take place".

What is the mood at a regional airport like Linz? "Everyone is nervous about summer 2025 because nobody knows what impact unemployment will have," reports Norbert Draskovits, Managing Director of Hörsching Airport.

Frankfurt comeback off to a good start
Thanks to Ryanair, Linz has had a twice-weekly connection to London-Stansted since October 28. On the same day, Austrian Airlines also launched flights to Frankfurt, using a Braathens Regional Airlines aircraft. The initial conclusion? "The load factors are pleasingly good, the figures are improving from week to week," says Draskovits. Passengers are returning faster than expected.