The Airbus A320neo that was badly damaged at Vienna-Schwechat Airport a few weeks ago is now to be repaired and put back into flight service. Chief Operating Officer Francesco Sciortino announced this publicly on Wednesday, July 31, 2024.

The OE-LZQ is actually a very young aircraft, but it was badly damaged during a routine towing operation at Vienna-Schwechat Airport. Photos went around the world and quite a few people had serious doubts that repairs were even possible. There was repeated speculation, even within Austrian Airlines, that it was about to be scrapped.

However, the damage was not caused by AUA itself, but by a ground service provider that was commissioned to tow the medium-haul jet. This means that the company's liability insurance must cover the damage. In other words, Austrian Airlines now had a choice: financial compensation from the insurer and the plane would go to the insurance company, which would probably sell it, i.e. have it scrapped, or have it repaired at the insurance company's expense.

The emphasis is on "let" because the structural damage is so severe that, according to Sciortino, the manufacturer Airbus is not only involved, but will carry out the work. Since the jet is unfit for flight, the work will be carried out by Airbus personnel at Vienna-Schwechat Airport. The AUA manager currently expects the repairs to take at least nine weeks.

The reason for this is that, among other things, the tail section has to be completely replaced. In simple terms, this means that work that is actually carried out in final assembly in Hamburg or Toulouse is being carried out on the OE-LZQ in Vienna. This Airbus A320neo is therefore being "partially rebuilt" and is to be put back into scheduled service once the work is completed. The Airbus technicians are expected to start repairs in late autumn.

However, Sciortino did not want to provide any information on the extent of the damage. He pointed out that he did not want to comment on this because anyone who has ever taken a car to the garage has certainly experienced something being found and the bill being higher than the estimate. However, this would not really be of any importance to Austrian Airlines, of which he is the Chief Operating Officer. The costs would be covered by the insurance of the person who caused the damage anyway and would therefore be paid by the insurer. This means that Austrian Airlines does not have to worry about the cost of repairs.

Airbus seems to see the repair of the OE-LZQ as a kind of challenge, because it is sending highly trained specialists who normally work on the final assembly lines to carry out the necessary replacement of the damaged components. It would of course be easier to bring the jet to Hamburg, but only in theory, because this Airbus A320neo is currently definitely unfit to fly.