The majority owner of Klagenfurt Airport, Lilihill Group, wanted to increase the stake and was in negotiations with the city of Klagenfurt and the state of Carinthia. Now these are said to have failed, at least for the time being, reports the Austrian Broadcasting Corporation, citing negotiating circles.

Officially, no one wants to confirm ORF's reporting (yet), but the fronts between the public sector and private investors have been considered hardened for some time. About a year and a half ago, Lilihill announced major investments that also included the construction of the terminal, but not much was implemented. Two aging hangars were razed to the ground for static reasons and one former Laudamotion manager was hired for airline marketing.

Even before the corona pandemic, there wasn't much going on in Klagenfurt. Only the destinations Cologne / Bonn and Vienna were served all year round. There were temporary seasonal scheduled and charter routes, but otherwise it was quiet at Carinthia's airport. The crisis has now resulted in the airport once again having no regular flights at all and once again greatly reduced the operating times, on which general aviation, for example, is dependent.

Future of the Vienna connection open

The return of Eurowings is not considered to be endangered, but it looks a little different in the case of Austrian Airlines. The Austrian Lufthansa subsidiary will start operating the only turboprop model at the end of March 2021, DHC Dash 8-400, exit. The smallest sample will then be the Embraer 195. The costs of using the regional jet on this ultra-short route are significantly higher than those of the Dash.

It's no secret that demand in Klagenfurt-Vienna has been weak in recent years. The AUA also reduced the frequencies step by step “before Corona”. The route is considered to be in deficit and should therefore not enjoy top priority when rebuilding the network. It remains to be seen whether the Embraer 195 pattern will once again be used on this domestic route to a reduced extent or whether the carrier will finally withdraw from Carinthia. In the long term, Alexis von Hoensbroech no longer wants to operate domestic flights, although the profitable Innsbruck-Vienna route is likely to be excluded.

Stalemate between investor and public sector

Regardless of the precarious situation with regard to the flight offer, the Lilihill Group intends to take over the airport completely if possible. For the private investor, this would have a very decisive advantage: Politicians no longer have to be involved in decisions and thus more freedom is available in terms of investments.

But it is precisely in this context that the city of Klagenfurt and the state of Carinthia seem to have certain concerns, because the investor could at least theoretically submit an application to the Ministry of Transport for closure and then sell the extensive area. Thus, the state and the city continue to insist on their common blocking minority. Lilihill wants to have the sole say - a stalemate that neither the responsible politician nor the investor wanted to comment on.