Austrian Airports Reach Over 90% of Pre-pandemic Passenger Levels in 2023
Last year, Austrian airports saw an increase in passenger traffic, with a total of 33.2 million travellers passing through their gates, as reported by Statistics Austria.
The same reveals that this figure marks a significant increase of 25.3 per cent compared to a year ago. At the same time, air cargo experienced a growth of 1.7 per cent, reaching 218,522 tons, while airmail experienced a 6.8 per cent decline to 6,205 tonnes, SchengenVisaInfo.com reports.
Commenting on these data, Tobias Thomas, Director General of Statistics Austria pointed out that with 33.2 million registered passengers in 2023, Austrian airports have reached almost 92 per cent of the first passengers in the record year of 2019. This marks the second-highest figure since data collection began in 1955, signalling a promising recovery for the aviation sector.
With a total of 33.2 million passengers transported (transit included), the passenger volume at the six Austrian airports in 2023 increased by 25.3 per cent or 6.7 million passengers compared to the previous year. After commercial aviation fell to 9.3 million passengers in the first Corona year 2020, the upward trend observed since 2021 continued in 2023.
During 2023, the Austrian aviation sector continued its trajectory towards recovery, with passenger numbers reaching 91.6 per cent of pre-pandemic levels, standing just 3.0 million passengers short of the record year of 2019.
Across Vienna, Graz, Innsbruck, Klagenfurt, Linz, and Salzburg airports, 259,000 aircraft movements were recorded, reflecting a total of 1.8 per cent increase in scheduled and non-scheduled traffic compared to the previous year. However, compared to 2019 figures, a 19.0 per cent decrease in aircraft movements was observed.
Further data also shows insights into passenger density, with an average of 128.1 individuals per flight in 2023, marking an increase of 7.2 per cent from 2022.
In particular, compared to 2019, where the average was 113.2 people per flight, a significant increase of 13.2 per cent was observed in the average number of passengers transported.
The six main Austrian airports that saw an increase in passenger traffic in 2023:
- Vienna Airport (24.7 per cent)
- Salzburg Airport (31.3 per cent)
- Innsbruck Airport (25.7 per cent)
- Graz Airport (30.6 per cent)
- Linz Airport (12.1 per cent).
- Klagenfurt Airport (85.5 per cent)
Comparing these figures to pre-pandemic levels, Salzburg Airport reached 94 per cent of its passenger numbers in 2019, while Vienna Airport reached 93 per cent, Innsbruck stood at approximately 79 per cent, and Graz reached nearly 71 per cent. Klagenfurt and Linz, the airports with relatively lower passenger volumes, saw 73 per cent and 53 per cent of their 2019 figures, respectively.
