Wizz Air from Salzburg (Photo: Salzburg Airport)
Salzburg Airport is satisfied with the passenger numbers from last year and is looking forward to positive traffic development in 2024.
Some of Salzburg’s winter sports areas are reporting record numbers again. Almost all of the tourists who stayed away in 2020 and 2021 due to Corona have returned. This not only makes the tourism businesses happy, it also makes Salzburg Airport happy, because these numbers are reflected in the traffic data. In the past financial year 2023, 1,614,601 passengers were recorded – this corresponds to an increase of 31.3% compared to the previous year. “An increase of 31.3% in passenger numbers with only a 15.7% increase in flight movements clearly shows that the aircraft to and from Salzburg were optimally utilized. I am pleased that we are once again approaching the traffic figures of the pre-crisis years, but the catch-up process will not be completed until 2025 at the earliest,” said Bettina Ganghofer, Managing Director of Salzburger Flughafen GmbH. If you “only” look at the second half of 2023 in terms of traffic figures, Salzburg Airport would have already reached over 91.6% of the pre-crisis level in terms of passengers, but at the end of the calculation, the whole year counts.
A look at the current 2023/2024 winter season
Right now, the city and state of Salzburg are enjoying snow, cold, fun on the slopes and a picturesque Salzburg old town “in white”. Guests appreciate the variety: from the slopes to the thermal baths, from the hotel to the old town with historical strolls and exclusive cuisine, souvenirs and lots of culture, to shopping fun in the shopping centers around Salzburg and the traditional après sk in the regions. “We can be very satisfied with the start of the 2023/2024 winter season, the guests are coming and the tourism professionals are also looking forward to the next few months with confidence. The airport is an enormously important hub for our location at this time,” said Supervisory Board Chairman and Deputy Governor Stefan Schnöll.
The winter service is working and is already in full operation at the airport. Almost 70 landing aircraft were welcomed on December 23rd and the team at the airport is well prepared for the next three months. Like every year, the winter season in particular is a major challenge for employees, equipment and infrastructure. Here all the gears have to mesh seamlessly; in the end, what counts is friendliness towards the guest, flexibility in the processes and close cooperation with airlines and tour operators. “The guests come mainly from Germany, Great Britain and Scandinavia, but also from Turkey and Arab countries. Salzburg is known and loved across all borders as a winter destination. The airport functions as the country’s classic ‘gateway to the Alps’ and welcome card. For guests, this means getting out of the plane curiously, taking in the Salzburg scenery, if possible with snow as their first impression, and starting their vacation with anticipation,” Ganghofer continued.
The airport’s primary goal is to maintain and moderately expand the existing network in order to be able to offer the region a suitable destination portfolio. In addition to detailed market research and market observation, intensive exchange between airport and airline partners is important in order to retain or attract attractive airlines and alliances for Salzburg.
Austria’s largest regional airport as an economic engine for the region
Almost 1,300 people work in a wide variety of areas at Salzburg Airport, from police and customs, to freight forwarding companies, aviation supply companies, fuel services, car rentals, airlines, technology and aircraft maintenance, to the numerous shops at the airport. To ensure that the airport “functions”, there are around 400 highly qualified employees and 150 seasonal part-time employees who strive every day to ensure that everything runs smoothly and quickly at the airport. The aim is to make the journey as pleasant as possible for passengers right from the start. Many corporations and companies settle in the Salzburg region because of the fast and good connectivity; the airport acts as the region’s international entry and exit gate. Today, companies have to be quickly and globally mobile in order to remain competitive in the market. A phone call, a video call or an email is often not enough; personal presence on site and fast service are essential here. “Good flight connections right on your doorstep are important for Salzburg, especially the connections to international hubs are indispensable! Many corporations rely on a location that is close to the airport, we need exactly such companies here in Salzburg and in order for them to come, a well-functioning airport is essential,” says Schnöll.
Not only companies with international branches want to get to and from Salzburg quickly and easily, holidaymakers also appreciate the quick arrival and departure. On the one hand, guests from abroad who want to immerse themselves in Salzburg’s mountain scenery, and on the other hand, people in the airport’s catchment area who want to spend a holiday far away. The airport and its partners meet these needs and connect people and continents with good air connections. For destinations that cannot be reached by direct flight from Salzburg, there are many hubs to explore the whole world.
Airport as an investor in the region: just over 6 million euros invested in 2023 Airports are not only large infrastructure facilities for flight operations, but also offer guests much more, from shopping to gastronomy. Efficiency is a buzzword here that is integrated into all processes and procedures, especially at airports. It is important to be able to appear competitive in the market and not lose touch. Every product, every purchase and every aid for the airport’s infrastructure has a clearly defined life cycle. “We know exactly when it is time to repair something, when something needs to be replaced or when something needs to be completely redesigned. The airport terminal project is a classic example: all signals clearly show that the life cycle has been reached. “In the next few years we would like to create a modern, functional, energy-saving and future-proof terminal that not only meets passenger requirements but also meets all legal and structural requirements,” said Schnöll about the terminal construction plans for the next few years.
The investment items arising in 2023 also affect multi-year projects; the amounts listed here refer exclusively to payments in the 2023 financial year!
Urgently needed investments were made in 2023 so that the airport’s infrastructure can continue to be kept at the cutting edge of technology. Due to the high security requirements in the area of baggage inspection, devices of EU standard 3 had to be implemented in the HBS area (1.5 million) and the baggage handling system had to be converted accordingly (1.4 million). Also specified by the EU is the EES (biometric entry/exit system), a large-scale IT system for the automatic monitoring of the travel movements of third-country nationals at the external Schengen borders, to be introduced in all member states[1]space (0.98 million). In order to get closer to the goal of CO² net neutrality, a PV system was installed on the parking garage roof (0.46 million), IT (hardware and software within the scope of 0.46 million), around 0.316 million were required for adaptations and the purchase of new devices (passenger bus conversion to electric drive, sweeper, forklift, electric car, various small appliances) and around 0.6 million for structural measures and various small projects. Smaller items included materials for the fire department (0.52 million) and various requirements from the specialist departments. “After the belt had to be tightened in 2020, 2021 and 2022 and many projects and investments were postponed or suspended, some of it could be worked on in 2023. In total, more than 6 million euros were invested in the future of Salzburg, because a well-situated airport benefits the entire region,” said Ganghofer about the urgently needed investments.
A look into summer 2024
In addition to the classic city flights in Germany (Berlin, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Hamburg), England with London (Gatwick, Luton and Stansted) is again strongly represented in the flight schedule. Visit the Dutch capital Amsterdam or the Serbian Belgrade for a few days – both are possible NONTOP from Salzburg. In addition, from April, Wizz Air will fly to Skopje and Bucharest three times a week.
PURE summer vacation – travel day in Europark tempts you to plan your vacation Greece has almost traditionally been the top travel destination on vacationers’ wish lists every summer. In addition to Karpathos, Corfu, Crete/Heraklion, Rhodes, Thessaloniki/Chalkidiki and Zakynthos, Kos – with even more flights this summer – is also an integral part of the Greece program. Sun, beach and sea are also guaranteed by the Egypt destinations Hurghada (bookable four times a week, all year round) and Marsa Alam, which is offered until the end of April. Diving, enjoying the beach, walking in the footsteps of thousands of years of Egyptian history, enjoying all-inclusive luxury – all of this ensures a relaxing holiday. By the way, the Balearic islands of Mallorca will be visited again from mid-March and Ibiza from the end of April. Canary Islands fans can book Gran Canaria and Tenerife until the end of April during the transition period to spring. The islands of Corsica (Calvi), Sardines (Olbia) and Cyprus (Larnaca) are particularly popular; summer fun and pure water fun are the order of the day here. Tunisia is back on the flight schedule at Salzburg Airport! With Nouvleair Tunisie we’re heading to Monastir until autumn. This summer we are also going to Antalya in Turkey and Lamezia Terme in Calabria. Travel destinations worldwide can be easily reached with just one stopover via major international airport hubs such as Frankfurt, Istanbul and Dubai. Anyone interested can get all the information about the summer flight schedule and travel options from Salzburg at the SN Travel Day on January 20, 2024 in Europark. Over 30 exhibitors – from local travel agencies to airlines – provide fascinating insights into the world of travel.
Salzburg Airport
2024-01-15 10:15:46
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