Smugglers, drugs etc.

Vienna Airport: Karner plans more surveillance

Florian Grünsteidl (Deputy City Police Commander), Gerhard Karner (Minister of the Interior), Günther Ofner (Member of the Management Board of Flughafen Wien AG)

(Bild: BMI/JŸrgen Makowecz)

Vienna-Schwechat Airport is one of Austria's largest transportation hubs. Hundreds of planes take off and land every day, taking thousands of travelers on vacation or back home. The airport is therefore classified as a critical infrastructure and the issue of security plays a major role. Interior Minister Gerhard Karner presented new measures on Wednesday to increase security at the airport.

"The vacation season means peak times at the airport and this can only be managed with good cooperation with all partners at the airport. The cooperation with the police and border control at Vienna Airport works excellently. Thanks to their commitment, crime statistics at the airport have been declining for many years and Vienna Airport is one of the safest airports in Europe! Our passengers can continue to rely on this", states Günther Ofner, Member of the Management Board of Flughafen Wien AG.

High security requirements, more personnel
With a passenger volume of more than 100,000 passengers per day, the police at the airport face major hurdles. As a result, the executive prioritizes three main areas of activity: Personal and infrastructure protection, criminal investigation and border protection. In order to ensure reliable personal protection, Interior Minister Karner said at the press conference that "personnel will be increased and the technical equipment extensively modernized". With regard to the protection of infrastructure, particular attention is being paid to abandoned luggage. The handling of state visits also falls under this area of activity. The second area is the criminal investigation service. The focus here is primarily on combating drug trafficking, but also the trafficking mafia.

(Bild: krone.tv)

"We have massively upgraded and strengthened the security sector in recent years. We have increased the number of staff from 550 to 660 in order to cope with the security requirements. We have increased the number of border controls from 40 to 100," emphasizes the Minister of the Interior.

The third and central task of the executive is border control. Among other things, work is being carried out on the introduction of an automated, Europe-wide registration system for third-country nationals. This will ensure aircraft and airport security. The aim is to determine the permitted length of stay in the Schengen area and combat visa abuse.

(Bild: krone.tv)

"We have just invested a double-digit million amount in the expansion of border control and additional fully automated e-gates", states Günther Ofner, Member of the Management Board of Flughafen Wien AG.

Bild: krone.tv

Targeted operational training with Cobra
The number of border control booths is to be increased from 40 to 100. The bunks are still being built in joint consultation between the police and the airport. Ten additional e-gates will also be purchased. The staff of the Lower Austria Provincial Police Directorate has been increased from around 540 to around 660 employees since December 1, 2020. On August 1, 2023, a new course of border police assistants started to support the police officers on site.

The training takes place entirely on site at the airport. Together with the EKO Cobra, target group-oriented operational training is provided for colleagues from the Vienna Airport Schwechat security service. The current pilot project is to be transferred to regular operations at the end of the year. In addition to the regular operational training, colleagues will receive an additional 40 hours of training. The security measures are being implemented on an ongoing basis in order to further increase security at the airport, emphasized the Minister of the Interior.