After Flughafen Wien AG, Austrian Airlines has now switched the lounge at Vienna Airport to simply taking drinks and food with you. The buffets are closed, but you can get packaged drinks and snacks when you leave the exclusive waiting area.
AUA spokeswoman Tanja Gruber confirmed to Aviation Direct that the changeover was decided at short notice. A local inspection revealed empty and locked buffets as well as a served counter at the exit of the lounge, where drinks and snacks are available to take away. Incidentally, you are not allowed to pack yourself, the staff take care of it. Another new feature is that a mask is now required for the entire stay. The AUA staff expressly points out that it is no longer permitted to remove weight from the table either.
Austrian Airlines originally argued that the hospitality in the lounge would fall under an exception for transport companies. The view of the carrier's legal department has now apparently changed. As mentioned: The changeover to just taking away food and drinks was already carried out on Friday. There were some deeply annoyed passengers on site who did not want to understand why consumption is not allowed in the lounge, but they were right in front of the door. Incidentally, this applies to all areas. Incidentally, the frequency in the Sky Lounge at Flughafen Wien AG has dropped significantly. The local staff indicated that this will be observed for around a week and then a temporary closure of the exclusive waiting area could follow. The frequency should therefore be so low that the operation has become uneconomical, according to the perception of the employees on site.