Graz Airport was used by 2023 passengers in 733.146. This means that the airport was able to increase by 31 percent compared to the same period last year. In terms of cargo, the best result in the airport's history was achieved with 19.379 tonnes. However: The KLM Amsterdam flights will be completely discontinued at the end of March 2024.

It was still not possible to match the volume that the Styrian airport achieved in 2019 in 2023. However, the management is confident that this will succeed in the current year 2024. The cancellations by the airlines operating locally would speak for this.

“In this challenging environment, Graz Airport did well in 2023 because the forecast traffic figures were not only achieved, but even exceeded,” reports Wolfgang Grimus, Managing Director of Graz Airport. “The stationing of a Eurowings aircraft and the associated expansion of the route portfolio (new scheduled destinations Berlin and Hamburg as well as an expanded charter offer) was a big and important step into the future. Styria's export-oriented commercial and industrial companies have again increasingly replaced online meetings with face-to-face appointments with their business partners. In tourist traffic, the passenger numbers from 2019 have already been exceeded again.”

2019 figures are expected to be achieved this year

“We have also achieved a lot in the non-aviation segment,” informs Jürgen Löschnig, Managing Director of Graz Airport. “The number of events held at the airport in 2023 is almost back to the level of 2019. We were able to attract new tenants in the cargo area, in the parking garage and in the office building. And in the environmental sector, the first PV system has been producing electricity since spring, and more are in preparation.”

576.277 passengers chose a scheduled flight for their business or vacation trip. The result for 2022 was increased by 30,5%. 156.869 passengers chose a charter flight to take off on vacation (+30,9%). A total of 9.655 takeoffs and landings were recorded in scheduled and charter traffic, an increase of 12,2% compared to 2022. This shows that, fortunately, aircraft utilization has increased significantly.

In terms of freight, the target figures were exceeded at almost 19.400 tonnes, with an increase of around 17% compared to the previous year, meaning that Graz Airport achieved the best freight result in its history in 2023. The settlement of two new tenants in the freight center reflects the good development and sends a positive signal for the future.

In the general aviation sector, after the previous year's decline of almost 16%, there was a comparatively small increase of 6,6% to 33.496 movements. In this area, training and education flights increased by around 30% compared to the previous year and have reached the level of 2021 again. Commercial general aviation flights fell by 17% compared to the previous year.

Summer 2024 without Amsterdam-Schiphol

According to the current state of affairs, there will be seven destinations on the line. These are Berlin, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Munich, Vienna, Zurich (increased to five times a week).

The destination Amsterdam is no longer in the 2024 summer flight schedule. There is a reason for this, because the Dutch aviation company KLM will discontinue the non-stop connection at the end of March 2024. According to Graz Airport, the reason for this is that this is an anticipation of the intended reduction in flight movements in Amsterdam-Schiphol.

When it comes to holiday flights, you can choose from the destinations Antalya, Brac, Calvi/Corsica, Heraklion/Crete, Hurghada, Karpathos, Kefalonia, Corfu, Kos, Larnaca, Palma de Mallorca, Paros, Rhodes, Skiathos and now also Stettin. There are individual charter flights or short chains to Bordeaux, Funchal, Ibiza, Copenhagen, Las Palmas, Lisbon, Paphos, Sønderborg, Tivat and Tenerife. At the current planning stage, a total of 32 destinations in 14 countries will be served directly from Graz.

“The high-frequency offering to 4 large transfer airports, the direct flights to attractive city break destinations and a varied tourist flight program will further strengthen our location,” says Wolfgang Grimus optimistically.