VIA activity shoots up
Austrias busiest aerodrome has experienced an immense passenger increase.Flughafen Wien AG (FW), the listed company managing Vienna International Airport (VIA or VIE), said today (Thurs) there were 1.726 million customers at the airport last month, up by 23.6 per cent compared to April 2010.FW pointed out that VIA was – as many other airports in Europe affected by temporary air traffic shutdowns in both March and April of last year after Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajokull erupted.FW also said today that the volume of cargo transported to and from VIA inched up by 0.3 per cent from April 2010 to the same month of this year.The firm said it was optimistic to achieve a five per cent passenger increase this year compared to 2010 when nearly 20 million people travelled via VIA. Salzburg Airport W. A. Mozart (SZG) was Austrias second-busiest airport with more than 1.6 million customers last year.Earlier this month, it emerged that Green Party icon Madeleine Petrovic applied for the vacant position of FW CEO. Petrovic explained she was “ready to take responsibility”, adding that she did not want to be confined to criticise controversial decisions made by the firm anymore.The bid period for FWs executive board expires on 30 May. The company is currently headed by former supervisory board boss Christoph Herbst, a lawyer linked to Lower Austrias Peoples Party (ÖVP) Governor Erwin Pröll.Both the city government of Vienna and the provincial administration of Lower Austria hold a 20 per cent interest in FW. The company was floated on the Vienna Stock Exchange (WBAG) in 1992.