A controversial airport found its place in literature fifty years ago and offers strange insights into travel at the time.

Almost fifty years ago, on October 17.10.1973, XNUMX, the writer Ingeborg Bachmann, who was born in Klagenfurt, died in her adopted home of Rome. She was always visiting her parents and occasionally took the plane. When traveling directly from Rome, this variant was probably too uneconomical due to the lack of direct flights, because for many years Austrian only offered Frankfurt as the only flight connection from Klagenfurt. But Bachmann was often enough on the road in Europe, and Frankfurt – Klagenfurt will have been right at one point.

After Bachmann's funeral in her hometown, the writer and friend Uwe Johnson (1934 Cammin, Pomerania - 1984 Sheerness on Sea, GB) went in search of traces to the birthplace of the famous author, visited numerous places mentioned in her works, in order to discover the To publish research in book form ("A trip to Klagenfurt", 1974).
Bachmann himself had a rather distant relationship to Klagenfurt: "You would have to be a stranger to find a place like K(lagenfurt) bearable for longer than an hour" (from a letter to Uwe Johnson dated July 25.7.1970, XNUMX).

But that is not the issue here.

On November 1, 1973, after his stay in Klagenfurt, Johnson flew back to Frankfurt and describes this flight very precisely. Today's reader feels transported back to a distant time.

It's All Saints' Day. Near the airfield is the municipal cemetery, which is very busy on this day. Bachmann wrote about the location of the airfield: "Someone came up with the idea of ​​putting the airfield next to the cemetery, and the people in Klagenfurt thought it would be convenient for the burial of the pilots..." (Youth in an Austrian town, 1961) .

From Klagenfurt to Salzburg, then further

Before departure, Johnson once again visited Ingeborg Bachmann's fresh grave in this very cemetery. How practical that you can deposit your luggage in Café Blumenstöckl at the central cemetery! A luggage dump near the airport at the cemetery - that's rare! And anyway: A visit to the cemetery immediately before departure is also rather unusual! In any case, it is only a few steps from Blumenstöckl to the airport.

Flight OS 426, a DC9 named "Tirol", has a slight delay of approximately 30 minutes, which should increase to 55 minutes by the time of departure. No reason is given. In the departure hall, Uwe Johnson notices an elegant gentleman pacing back and forth. Even more unusual: a personal attendant constantly carries his hand luggage after him.

You can easily go through to the gate, no security check, you don't even have to show your passport at passport control - it'll be fine! The duty-free shop is closed on this day. Daily newspapers are offered to guests on the plane. One has the strange choice between a Carinthian local newspaper and the Roman "Daily American", a European edition of an American daily newspaper produced in Rome until 1984.

The flight takes off at 13.57:14.08 p.m., at XNUMX:XNUMX p.m. the plane touches down for a short stopover in Salzburg (are the times really correct?). Passengers have to disembark and are asked if their luggage has been "checked" in Klagenfurt (I assume they mean "checked through"?). You have the opportunity to shop duty-free if you hurry. It wasn't possible in Klagenfurt today.
Soon we will continue, the author does not tell us an exact departure time. The flight attendants now not only give the announcements in German and English, but also in French. In the past, several foreign languages ​​were required by the staff.
A cold meal is served, the cabin crew has to work extremely fast.

The landing in Frankfurt takes place at 15.18 p.m. (Johnson probably means the opening of the doors). Customs and formalities are already done at 15.25:XNUMX p.m. Again, a slight doubt as to the accuracy of the times given, but even though it took a few minutes longer, it's incredibly quick compared to today.

Upon arrival, Johnson thinks of Bachmann again. What if she wanted to fly on to Rome? "It won't be easy to hold at this time of day." LH286 to Turin or another Italian city perhaps? Or a visit to Frankfurt and later on? Hard to believe that there was apparently no connection to Rome that day, or did Johnson not look too closely? In any case, such a transfer connection would have been quite expensive, rather nothing for Bachmann, who by no means swam in money.

For Klagenfurt, the Frankfurt flight was the only one of the day. A lot may have been different, but the flight frequencies there are only slightly more frequent today.
Fifty years ago there was a firm belief in the need for an airport, today there are some doubts...

This post was written by: Mag.Wolfgang Ludwig