Vienna International Airport

Aerial view of the airport
Source: Bobby-John de Bot


IATA: VIE ICAO: LOWW

Airport type	Public
Operator	Flughafen Wien AG
Serves	Vienna, Austria and Bratislava, Slovakia
Location	Schwechat, Austria
Hub for	Austrian Airlines
Focus city for	Eurowings Europe Korean Air Cargo Ryanair Wizz Air
Elevation AMSL	183 m / 600 ft
Coordinates	48°06′39″N 016°34′15″ECoordinates: 48°06′39″N 016°34′15″E
Website	viennaairport.com

Vienna International Airport (German: Flughafen Wien-Schwechat, Slovak: Letisko Viedeň-Schwechat; IATA: VIE, ICAO: LOWW) is the international airport of Vienna, the capital of Austria, located in Schwechat, 18 km (11 mi) southeast of central Vienna and 57 kilometres (35 mi) west of Bratislava. It is the country’s largest airport and serves as the hub for Austrian Airlines and Eurowings Europe as well as a base for low-cost carriers Lauda, Wizz Air and Ryanair. It is capable of handling wide-body aircraft up to the Airbus A380. The airport features a dense network of European destinations as well as long-haul flights to Asia, North America and Africa. In 2018, the airport handled 27 million passengers, a 10.8% increase compared to 2017.

Development since the 2000s

In 2006, the 109 m (358 ft) tall control tower started operating. It allows a free overview of the entire airport area and offers a night laser show, which should welcome the passengers even from the aircraft. From 2004–2007, an Office Park had been erected offering 69,000 m2 (740,000 sq ft) of rentable space. A VIP- and general aviation-terminal, including a separated apron, opened in 2006.

To accommodate future growth, in 1998 Vienna Airport published a master plan that outlined expansion projects until 2015. These projects included a new office park, railway station, cargo center, general aviation center, air traffic control tower, terminal, and runway. Additionally, the plan called for streamlined security control. The centerpiece of the enlargement was the new terminal, dubbed Skylink during its construction. In 2002, the airport’s management estimated that building the new terminal will cost €401.79 million. However, costs skyrocketed and in 2009 stood at an estimated €929.5 million. The Austrian Court of Audit then recommended that the airport implement several cost-savings measures, which in the Court’s estimate brought down final costs to €849.15 million, still more than double the original plans.

On June 5, 2012, the new Austrian Star Alliance Terminal (Terminal 3, named Skylink during its construction) was opened, which enables the airport to handle up to 30 million passengers per year. Construction started in 2004 and was suspended due to projected cost increases in 2009, but resumed in 2010. The maximum planned costs totaled less than €770 million. Following concerns over the mismanagement of the Skylink project, chief executive Herbert Kaufman agreed to resign at the end of December 2010. The new building with its North Pier has 17 jetbridges and makes the airport capable of handling more aircraft, although the new terminal is not able to handle Airbus A380 aircraft. However, the older Concourse D will see an upgrade to accommodate the A380.

Concourse D seen from the tower
Source: Stanislav Doronenko

Terminals

The airport has four terminal buildings named Terminal 1, 2 and 3 which are directly built against each other as well as the additional Terminal 1A located opposite Terminal 1. Terminals 1, 2 and 3 connect to the five concourses. The central arrivals hall for all terminal areas is located in Terminal 3.

Interior of Terminal 3
Source: Arne Müseler

Terminal 1 underwent refurbishment in January 2013 and is now mainly used by some oneworld and SkyTeam airlines.
Terminal 1A, located in a standalone building opposite Terminal 1 hosts check-in facilities for a number of low-cost carriers.
Terminal 2 is currently closed, pending refurbishment.[10] It was used by numerous foreign airlines whose check-in facilities have been primarily relocated to Terminal 1.
Terminal 3, also referred to as the Austrian Star Alliance Terminal, with its adjoining Concourses F and G is the airport’s newest facility. It is used by the Austrian Airlines Group, most Star Alliance members, and a number of other carriers including Emirates, El Al, Korean Air, Royal Jordanian and Qatar Airways.

Concourses

Concourse B is in the basement of Concourse C and features Gates B31–B42 (boarding by buses) for Schengen destinations
Concourse C (pier west) for Schengen destinations; features Gates C31–C42 (jetbridges), C71–C75 (buses, Schengen only)
Concourse D (pier east; formerly Concourse A) for non-Schengen destinations with shared passport control at the entrance of pier east; features Gates D21–D29 (boarding via jetbridges), D31–D37 (boarding via buses), D61–D70 (buses). Concourse D will be refurbished and equipped to handle the Airbus A380 as part of the refurbishment programme announced in March 2016.
Concourse F (Level 1 of pier north) is used for Schengen destinations and consists of Gates F01-F37 (jetbridges and buses)
Concourse G (Level 3 and basement of pier north) for non-Schengen destinations; shared passport control at the entrance of Level 3; features Gates G01-G37 (jetbridges and busgates) and G61-67 (boarding via buses)

Expansion projects

Vienna Airport originally projected that it would need a third runway by 2012, or 2016 at the latest, in the event of cooperation with nearby Bratislava Airport. It currently projects that a third runway will be necessary by 2025, however, environmental organizations and some local communities oppose construction. These groups have attacked the decision of Lower Austria (the state in which the airport is located) to move ahead with the first phase of construction; verdict from the administrative court that has taken up the lawsuit was expected later in 2015. As of September 2016, there were ongoing public protests while as no legal decision had been made. On 28 March 2018, the Austrian Federal Administrative Court ruled in favour of a third runway, a decision that may be appealed by opponents within six weeks.

The third runway is planned to be parallel to and south of the existing runway 11/29. It will be designated 11R/29L, with the existing runway being renamed 11L/29R. The new runway is planned to be 3680 m long and 60 m wide, and equipped with a category III instrument landing system in one direction (29L).

In July 2019, the refurbishment of Terminal 2 started. Terminal 2 is planned to reopen in the end of 2020. Once Terminal 2 has been reopened, Concourse D will be closed for reburbishment at the beginning of 2021, it is expected to open again in 2023. In addition to that, a completely new building will be built. It will connect the existing pier east and pier north. The so called T3 Southern Enlargement will be offering 70,000 m2 (750,000 sq ft) of leisure area and new additional bus gates. Opening is set for 2023.

Airlines and destinations

Passenger

The following airlines offer regular scheduled and charter flights at Vienna International Airport:

Airlines	Destinations
Aegean Airlines	Athens
Aer Lingus	Dublin
Aeroflot	Moscow–Sheremetyevo
Air Algerie	Algiers
Air Arabia	Sharjah
Air Arabia Maroc	Marrakesh
airBaltic	Riga, Tallinn
Air Cairo	Seasonal charter: Sharm El Sheikh
Air Canada	Toronto–Pearson
Air China	Beijing–Capital
Air France	Paris–Charles de Gaulle
Air India	Delhi
Air Malta	Catania, Malta
Air Moldova	Chișinău
Air Serbia	Belgrade, Kraljevo
All Nippon Airways	Tokyo–Haneda
AnadoluJet	Istanbul–Sabiha Gökçen
Austrian Airlines	Amman–Queen Alia, Amsterdam, Athens, Bangkok–Suvarnabhumi, Barcelona, Basel/Mulhouse, Beijing–Capital, Belgrade, Berlin–Tegel, Birmingham, Bologna, Brussels, Bucharest, Budapest, Cairo, Chicago–O’Hare, Chișinău, Cologne/Bonn, Copenhagen, Dnipro, Düsseldorf, Erbil, Frankfurt, Geneva, Gran Canaria, Graz, Hamburg, Iași, Innsbruck, Kiev–Boryspil, Klagenfurt, Košice, Kraków, Lanzarote, Larnaca, Leipzig/Halle, London–Heathrow, Lviv, Lyon, Manchester, Marrakesh, Milan–Malpensa, Minsk, Montréal–Trudeau, Moscow–Domodedovo, Munich, Naples, Newark, New York–JFK, Nice, Nuremberg, Odessa, Oslo–Gardermoen, Paris–Charles de Gaulle, Podgorica, Prague, Pristina, Rome–Fiumicino, Salzburg, Sarajevo, Shanghai–Pudong, Sibiu, Skopje, Sofia, Stockholm–Arlanda, Stuttgart, Tehran–Imam Khomeini, Tel Aviv, Tenerife–South, Thessaloniki, Tirana, Tokyo–Narita, Varna, Venice, Vilnius, Warsaw–Chopin, Washington–Dulles, Yerevan, Zagreb, Zurich Seasonal: Antalya, Bari, Bodrum, Brindisi, Cagliari, Cape Town, Catania, Chania, Corfu, Dalaman, Dubrovnik, Florence, Fuerteventura, Funchal, Gothenburg, Heraklion, Ibiza, Kalamata, Karpathos, Kavala, Kefalonia, Kos, Lamezia Terme, Los Angeles, Malé, Mauritius, Menorca, Mykonos, Mytilene, Olbia, Palermo, Palma de Mallorca (resumes 4 July 2020), Patras, Preveza/Lefkada, Reykjavík–Keflávik, Rhodes, Rostock, Saint Petersburg, Samos, Santorini, Skiathos, Split, Volos, Zadar, Zakynthos Seasonal charter: Hurghada, Kittilä, Marsa Alam, Tromsø
Belavia	Minsk
BH Air	Seasonal charter: Burgas
Blue Islands	Seasonal charter: Jersey
British Airways	London–Heathrow Seasonal: London–Gatwick
Brussels Airlines	Brussels
Bulgaria Air	Sofia
Bulgarian Air Charter	Seasonal charter: Burgas, Varna
China Airlines	Taipei–Taoyuan
China Southern Airlines	Guangzhou, Urumqi
Corendon Airlines	Seasonal: Antalya, Bodrum, İzmir
Corendon Airlines Europe[36]	Seasonal: Hurghada
Croatia Airlines	Zagreb Seasonal: Split
Czech Airlines	Seasonal charter: Brač
easyJet	Amsterdam, Berlin–Schönefeld, Berlin–Tegel, Bristol, Edinburgh, London–Gatwick, Lyon, Manchester, Naples
easyJet Switzerland	Basel/Mulhouse
EgyptAir	Cairo
El Al	Tel Aviv
Emirates	Dubai–International
Enter Air	Seasonal charter: Tbilisi, Yerevan
Etihad Airways	Abu Dhabi (begins 25 October 2020)
Ethiopian Airlines	Addis Ababa
Eurowings	Catania, Cologne/Bonn, Düsseldorf, Faro, Fuerteventura, Gran Canaria, Hamburg, Hannover, Lanzarote, Málaga, Marsa Alam, Pristina, Stuttgart, Tenerife–South Seasonal: Bastia, Brindisi, Calvi, Chania, Corfu, Heraklion, Ibiza, Kavala, Kos, Lamezia Terme, Mytilene, Nice, Olbia, Pisa, Porto, Rhodes, Samos, Santorini
EVA Air	Bangkok–Suvarnabhumi, Taipei–Taoyuan
Finnair	Helsinki
FlyEgypt	Seasonal charter: Hurghada
Flynas	Seasonal: Riyadh
Georgian Airways	Tbilisi
Hainan Airlines	Shenzhen
Iberia	Madrid
Iran Air	Tehran–Imam Khomeini
Jet2.com	Seasonal: Birmingham, Edinburgh, Leeds/Bradford, Manchester, Newcastle upon Tyne
KLM	Amsterdam
Korean Air	Seoul–Incheon
Kuwait Airways	Seasonal: Kuwait City
Lauda	Tel Aviv
LOT Polish Airlines	Warsaw–Chopin
Lufthansa	Frankfurt, Munich
Luxair	Luxembourg
Montenegro Airlines	Podgorica
Norwegian Air Shuttle	Oslo–Gardermoen
Pegasus Airlines	Ankara, Istanbul–Sabiha Gökçen Seasonal: Izmir, Kayseri
People’s	St. Gallen/Altenrhein
Qatar Airways	Doha
Rossiya	Saint Petersburg
Royal Air Maroc	Casablanca
Royal Jordanian	Amman–Queen Alia
Ryanair	Alicante, Athens, Banja Luka (begins 26 October 2020), Barcelona, Beauvais, Beirut, Bergamo, Billund, Birmingham, Bologna, Bordeaux, Brindisi, Bristol, Bucharest, Catania, Charleroi, Cologne/Bonn (begins 1 August 2020), Copenhagen, Dortmund, Dublin, Edinburgh, Eindhoven (begins 2 August 2020), Faro, Gothenburg, Helsinki, Kherson (begins 26 October 2020), Kiev–Boryspil, Lanzarote, Lappeenranta, Larnaca, Lisbon, Liverpool, London–Stansted, Madrid, Málaga, Malta, Milan–Malpensa, Münster/Osnabrück, Palermo, Palma de Mallorca, Porto, Riga, Rome–Fiumicino, Sandefjord, Santander, Seville, Sofia, Stockholm–Skavsta, Tallinn, Tenerife–South, Thessaloniki, Valencia, Vilnius, Warsaw–Modlin (begins 1 August 2020), Zaragoza Seasonal: Alghero, Bari (begins 2 August 2020), Burgas, Cagliari, Chania, Corfu, Fuerteventura, Gdańsk (begins 2 August 2020), Gran Canaria, Heraklion, Ibiza, Kalamata, Kefalonia, Kos, Marrakesh, Mykonos, Naples (begins 1 August 2020), Paphos (begins 1 August 2020), Preveza/Lefkada, Rhodes, Santorini, Shannon, Skiathos, Varna, Zadar, Zakynthos
Saudia	Jeddah Seasonal: Riyadh
Smartwings	Seasonal charter: Boa Vista, Gran Canaria, Sal
SunExpress	Antalya, Izmir Seasonal: Adana, Ankara, Dalaman
Swiss International Air Lines	Zurich
TAP Air Portugal	Lisbon
TAROM	Bucharest
Thai Airways	Bangkok–Suvarnabhumi
Transavia	Rotterdam
Tunisair	Tunis
Turkish Airlines	Ankara, Istanbul Seasonal: Gaziantep, Izmir, Kayseri, Samsun
Ukraine International Airlines	Kiev–Boryspil
Utair	Moscow–Vnukovo, Ufa
Volotea	Nantes Seasonal: Bilbao
Vueling	Barcelona, Florence
Wings of Lebanon	Seasonal charter: Beirut
Wizz Air	Athens, Alicante, Barcelona (begins 15 July 2020), Bari, Billund, Burgas (begins 3 July 2020), Bremen, Bucharest (begins 15 July 2020), Catania, Charleroi (begins 1 July 2020), Chișinău, Cluj-Napoca, Cologne/Bonn, Constanta (begins 3 July 2020), Dortmund, Eindhoven, Faro (begins 4 July 2020), Kharkiv, Kiev–Zhuliany, Kutaisi, Larnaca, Lisbon, London–Luton, Madrid, Málaga, Milan–Malpensa, Naples, Nice, Niš, Ohrid, Oslo–Gardermoen, Podgorica (begins 20 July 2020), Porto, Pristina, Reykjavík–Keflavík, Rome–Fiumicino, Stockholm–Skavsta, Suceava (begins 20 July 2020), Tallinn (begins 2 July 2020), Tel Aviv, Tenerife–South, Thessaloniki, Tirana, Valencia, Varna, Warsaw–Chopin, Yerevan, Zaporizhia Seasonal: Alghero, Castellón (begins 3 July 2020), Corfu, Eilat, Gdańsk, Heraklion (begins 2 July 2020), Malta, Marrakech (begins 27 October 2020), Menorca (begins 17 July 2020), Rhodes (begins 2 July 2020), Santorini (begins 18 July 2020), Tuzla, Zakynthos (begins 4 July 2020)

Cargo

Airlines	Destinations
Asiana Cargo	Seoul–Incheon
Cargolux	Luxembourg
Korean Air Cargo	Delhi, Frankfurt, Milan–Malpensa, Moscow-Sheremetyevo, Oslo–Gardermoen, Seoul–Incheon
Silk Way Airlines	Baku
Turkish Cargo	Istanbul–Atatürk, Minsk
UPS Airlines	Budapest, Cologne/Bonn

Control tower
Source: Ralf Roletschek

Ground transportation

Train

The airport’s railway station
Source: FrontOffice

The Vienna S-Bahn line S7 provides a local service to the city centre taking approx. 25 minutes. The more expensive City Airport Train connects the airport directly to Wien Mitte railway station, close to the city centre, in 16 minutes.

Additionally, the underground railway station has been expanded to accommodate long-distance trains. Since December 2014, the first trains passing Vienna’s new main station, ICE services from Germany, terminate at the airport. Since December 2015, ÖBB Railjet services operate to the airport as well. Long-distance train rides between the airport and the main station take approx. 15 minutes.

Car

The airport lies directly adjacent to motorway A4 which leads from central Vienna to Budapest. It has its own exit named Flughafen Wien-Schwechat. Bratislava can be reached via motorway A6 which splits from the A4 in the east. Taxis and car rental facilities are available at the airport. There are also several taxi companies that operate at the airport.

Bus

Buses operate from the airport to various places in Vienna and to other cities including Bratislava, Budapest and Brno.

Accidents and incidents

In 1955, a Convair CV-340 crashed on approach to the airport, killing 7 of the 29 passengers and crew on board. This is the last fatal aviation accident to occur at Wien-Schwechat Airport.
On 27 December 1985, terrorist attacks were carried out at Vienna and Rome Airports. Arab terrorists attacked the airports with assault rifles and hand grenades. In the Vienna attack three people were killed and 44 others were wounded. One terrorist was killed and two captured by police and security guards.
On 12 July 2000, Hapag-Lloyd Flight 3378 crashed short of the runway at the airport on the final approach of its diverted flight due to fuel exhaustion. There were no fatalities, but the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

Source: wikipedia