Ban on domestic flights

Höffinger Solutions presents strategic study / ban on domestic flights in Austria / CO2 and steering effects called into question / almost 90% of former passengers lost for Austria / economic effects migrate abroad
At a press conference in Vienna, study author Stefan Höffinger presented the results of the strategic study on the effects of the end of domestic flight routes in Austria. 

Background and history
At the beginning of the coronavirus crisis in 2020, the massive impact of the global travel restrictions and partial flight bans due to the pandemic was already becoming clear. To counteract the effects of the pandemic, the German government decided to launch an AUA rescue package, among other things. As a condition for supporting this rescue package, Climate Protection Minister Leonore Gewessler imposed clear conditions, including the suspension of all domestic flights on routes that can be traveled by train "significantly" under three hours. "The Salzburg-Vienna flight route, which has been in existence for 60 years, was one of the first victims of this rescue package. A very bad signal for the Salzburg state government and the business location! The economic added value went to neighboring countries and the ecological benefits for a common Europe are questionable - as this study by Höffinger Solutions makes clear. What is exciting is the rail connection to Vienna, which is said to take well under three hours - in the best and fastest case scenario, it takes 2:50 minutes," says Deputy Governor Stefan Schnöll.
The study deals with the central question of whether the steering effects expected by Federal Minister Gewessler and formulated in the Aviation Strategy 2040+ of the Ministry of Climate Protection have materialized. This aviation strategy suggests that a "significant" proportion of former passengers on the flight route from Salzburg to Vienna will travel this route by train. In addition, it was stated that air travelers from Salzburg and the surrounding area will travel to Vienna Airport by train instead of by car. "Both turn out to be wishful thinking. To make matters worse, the popular daytime connections from Vienna are no longer accessible for transfer passengers from the provincial airports, or it is no longer possible to travel home to the provinces and rural regions in one day. Passengers will therefore switch to more convenient routes, i.e. use foreign hubs," says Peter Malanik, Managing Director of AviationIndustry Austria.

Effects on Salzburg
The Vienna hub has become less important, especially for the rural districts of Salzburg and the many business travelers from the German border region. The discontinuation of the flight connection was not for climate reasons (shifting emissions to the roads), but out of pure dogmatism. "The discontinuation of the flight connection from Salzburg to Vienna represents lasting damage to our business location. More than 90% of the formerly up to 120,000 passengers per year on the Salzburg-Vienna flight route used the flight connection to fly further into the world from Vienna Airport HUB," says Bettina Ganghofer, Managing Director of the airport. Around 10% of these passengers - mainly people coming directly from the city of Salzburg and the surrounding area - were point-to-point passengers and switched to rail. The majority of the remaining passengers (approx. 90%) either switched to a car to Munich Airport or reached their final destination via other hubs abroad (Frankfurt, Istanbul, Düsseldorf, Dubai, Amsterdam, etc.).

Loss of connectivity and thus ultimately of added value
For WKÖ Aviation Chairman Günther Ofner, one thing is certain: "The expected positive effects on CO2 emissions in Austria will not materialize." Ofner also notes in this context that, according to the IEA and the Federal Environment Agency, aviation accounts for less than 0.2% of total CO2 emissions in Austria. Across Europe, the share is just over 0.5% and 2.7% worldwide. "Nevertheless, the global aviation industry has set itself the goal of being CO2-neutral by 2050. However, this will require measures other than the discontinuation of domestic flight routes," says Ofner.
In addition, the measure has negative effects on the location, as study author Stefan Höffinger concludes: "A restriction of domestic flight routes leads above all to a loss of connectivity, which in turn has a negative impact on the attractiveness of Austria as a business location. This means that not only will the expected effects on climate protection not materialize, but the switch to foreign hubs will also result in a loss of added value within Austria." A ban on domestic flights would therefore not be expedient.