The AUA has been saved, but the connections from Vienna to Salzburg, Graz and Klagenfurt are not in the towel. That bothers the Chamber of Commerce.

In the federal states, the fact that Austrian Airlines in particular has to give up some ultra-short-haul flights within Austria or that these are subject to an exorbitant tax does not exactly create enthusiasm. The Chamber of Commerce of Carinthia and Styria criticize the government's approach. Whole regions would be downright dependent on the outside world, so the tenor from the economy.

“I am delighted that the federal government has succeeded in securing AUA and Vienna Airport for the long term. But I also expect that domestic air traffic will also be resumed. Carinthia as a place to live needs the airport and connections to international hubs, ”said Carinthia's Chamber of Commerce President Jürgen Mandl today. From an economic point of view, in the interests of the tourist destination, but also as a regional infrastructure that creates an identity, Klagenfurt Airport and its integration into the AUA route network are indispensable.

The WKO official also demands that the AUA should settle its debts with the travel agencies: "Here, around 200 million euros were paid by the domestic travel agencies for flights that were later canceled due to the corona crisis and retained by the AUA, although the travel agencies in turn made the advance payments Have refunded customers. This money must immediately flow back to the travel agencies, whose situation is difficult enough because of the ongoing travel restrictions. "

WKO: Loss of the AUA connection to Vienna weakens Styria and Salzburg

In Styria, WKO president Josef Herk and IV chairman Georg Knill strongly criticize the impending loss of the connection from Graz to the Austrian Airlines hub in Vienna. "The loss of the connection to the federal capital weakens the business location Styria and ultimately the entire region of southern Austria," emphasizes Herk.

“From 2027, this will probably have to be done increasingly via the hubs in Munich and Frankfurt. This contradicts the planned strategy of securing Vienna as a long-distance hub and is at best ineffective in terms of ecology, ”emphasizes Knill.

"Instead of using the southern railway line to strengthen the common economic area of ​​southern Austria, the upcoming cancellation of the Vienna connection should be seen as a step in the wrong direction in the international orientation of Styria," said the two Styrian officials.

"The AUA rescue package was necessary and is important for Austria and Schwechat Airport, but it is at the expense of Salzburg and other federal states," criticizes WKO Salzburg President Peter Buchmüller. “Climate protection is important, but Salzburg Airport is too. Now the eternal debate about Salzburg Airport must at least be over. I call on all political forces, including the Greens in the city and state of Salzburg, to actively secure the future of the airport. Salzburg Airport needs to close ranks! "

FPÖ politicians locate loophole in the treaty

"When the large infrastructure projects Koralm Railway and Semmering Base Tunnel are completed, this requirement will also mean the removal of the AUA connection for Graz Airport," said FPÖ state party secretary Stefan Hermann. “There are hundreds of jobs at our domestic airports, and the termination of the AUA flight connection would not only be a severe blow for Graz Airport itself, but also for the numerous industrial and supplier companies in the Graz area. The state government would be well advised to let its contacts in Vienna play, in order to avert this threatening damage to the Green Mark. Last but not least, we call on the Styrian Vice Chancellor to speak to his environment minister's conscience and hope that rational economic interests will prevail against green environmental fantasies ”.

The Salzburg FPÖ chairwoman Marle Svazek also expects an impact on the business location: “With the loss of the flight connection Salzburg - Vienna, not only numerous jobs in the area of ​​flight processing are at stake. This measure has an enormous impact on the attractiveness of Salzburg as a tourist hotspot. For numerous business travelers and tourists, the domestic flight / train transfer offer will also not be attractive enough. Therefore, travelers could give preference to alternative airports near the border in the future. While we are sacrificing Salzburg, the champagne corks pop in Munich "

The former transport minister and today's FPÖ chairman Norbert Hofer has repeatedly attracted attention in recent weeks with extremely contradicting statements in connection with the rescue of Austrian Airlines. Now he suspects that Lufthansa could exploit a loophole in the agreement that was signed with the Republic of Austria: “Now the next breakdown in negotiations by the federal government around the multi-million dollar support for the AUA has become known. In future, AUA will not be allowed to fly short routes - for example from Salzburg or Graz to Vienna - but AUA parent Lufthansa will. That means nothing more than competition for Austrian Airlines from its own mother. Other airlines are of course also allowed to operate these routes. This does not help the environment, but it distorts competition and weakens the economic regions around Salzburg and Graz. This shows once again that the not exactly aviation-savvy negotiators on the part of Austria were ripped off by Lufthansa boss Carsten Spohr. The location guarantee for the AUA base in Vienna is also only valid for ten years. Then this company location will unfortunately be history. "

Environmental requirements do not go far enough for socialist youth

Completely different from the functionaries of the economic chambers and the opposition politicians, one sees the matter with the socialist youth. As a protest, she painted her displeasure with washable chalk in front of the Federal Chancellery in the night from Monday to Tuesday. The environmental requirements that Austrian Airlines had to accept in the course of state aid obviously do not go far enough for the SJ.

"While thousands of businesses and the self-employed are complaining about the government's inadequate Corona aid, Kurz is simply making almost 450 million euros in tax money for the bankrupt airline AUA," criticized Paul Stich, chairman of the Socialist Youth. “Austria is missing one climate target after another. While the government is unwilling to take the necessary measures, millions of people have to prepare for a future in the climate catastrophe. Instead of finally abolishing massively climate-damaging short-haul and domestic flights across the board, one airline is now being subsidized directly with tax money. That is a slap in the face of all young people who have committed themselves to climate and environmental protection in the past year. When will our future finally be more important than the profits of corporations? The federal government's priorities are upside down. While urgently necessary investments in the health and care system are not being made despite Corona, no tax euro is apparently too expensive for Kurz to throw at a corporation. The deal is also a scandal from an economic policy perspective. Once again, corporate losses are socialized and profits privatized. "