Austrian air traffic up
Austrian airports registered significantly more passengers last year.Figures presented by Statistik Austria show that planes departing and arriving at aerodromes across the country recorded 24.5 million passengers in 2010, up by 7.9 per cent compared to the previous year. The agency pointed out that this increase was achieved despite delays and preliminary air traffic shutdowns following eruptions of Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajokull in March and April.The number of flights at airports in Austria inched up by 0.9 per cent from 2009 to 2010 when 320,409 departures and arrivals were registered.Vienna International Airport (VIA) which is situated south-east of the capital recorded nearly 20 million passengers in 2010. Salzburg Airport W. A. Mozart (SZG) was the countrys second-busiest aerodrome in 2010 with more than 1.6 million customers.VIA is currently being expanded. The construction of a fourth terminal started in 2005, but the airport suffered several setbacks. The Audit Office (RH) launched an investigation into the Skylink project after business magazines claimed that costs could range around one billion Euros last year. Planners initially vowed not to spend more than 450 million Euros. Building activities were restarted recently. The airports supervisory board said some weeks ago that it will ensure expenses will not surpass 800 million Euros.