AUSTRIA. Vienna Airport will break ground on construction of its Terminal 3 Southern Expansion on 14 February, with completion due by 2027.
The new building will house around 70,000sq m of space, including more than 30 additional retail and dining options. Many of these will emphasise Austrian cuisine and local brands.
The airport company commented on the development as it released 2023 passenger traffic figures today. Vienna Airport served 29.5 million passengers in the year, a rise of +24.7% compared to 2022. The figure was 93.3% of pre-pandemic 2019 levels and the second highest in the airport’s history. A modest increase to around 30 million passengers is expected in 2024.
During the year, the most popular destinations for flights from Vienna Airport were Antalya, Mallorca and Barcelona. Bangkok, New York and Taipei were the top three among long-haul routes. Germany, Spain and Italy were the most popular country destinations. Italy, Greece and Turkey recorded the strongest passenger growth by country market in 2023 compared to 2019.
Flughafen Wien Group, which includes Vienna Airport and the international strategic investments in Malta Airport and Kosice Airport, reported a +26.2% increase in passenger traffic to almost 38 million in the year. Group passenger traffic in 2023 was down by -4% compared to 2019.
Member of the Management Board Julian Jäger said: “The strong desire to travel emerging after the coronavirus pandemic continued in 2023 and served as the basis for a substantial upswing in passenger volume at Vienna Airport.
“The new Southern Expansion of Terminal 3, on which construction will begin soon and which is scheduled to be put into operation in 2027, will enable us to join the ranks of the top airports across the globe.
“Our international strategic investments in Malta and Kosice airports already surpassed their pre-crisis passenger figures in 2019. We anticipate a normalisation of flight traffic growth rates in 2024. The extraordinarily strong catch-up effect in the past two years following the coronavirus pandemic will slow down in 2024 and we expect a passenger volume of about 30 million travellers at Vienna Airport in the entire year 2024.”
Commenting on the financial performance and outlook, Member of the Management Board Günther Ofner said: “With respect to its business results, Vienna Airport will continue on its growth path in 2024. Revenue is expected to rise to €970 million, the consolidated net profit for the year should increase to at least €210 million and EBITDA will be up to more than €390 million, which underlines the strong financial standing of the completely debt-free company.
“Accordingly, at the end of 2023, the outstanding EIB loan was fully repaid ahead of schedule. Particularly at a time marked by sluggish construction activity, airport investments will double to over €200 million.” ✈
