New landing bans force Austrian Airlines to cancel flights

The Austrian Federal Ministry of Social Affairs, Health, Care and Consumer Protection has significantly expanded the list of landing bans for aircraft. Starting Thursday 16 July, no regular flights from the following countries, among others, will be permitted to land in Austria: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Egypt, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Romania and Serbia. The landing bans for aircraft from Great Britain, Sweden and the Ukraine have also been extended and the decree is valid until 31 July 2020.

Due to the official prohibition, Austrian Airlines has been forced to cancel all flights between Vienna and the following destinations: Belgrade, Bucharest, Cairo, Kyiv, London, Podgorica, Pristina, Sarajevo, Sibiu, Skopje, Sofia, Stockholm, Tirana and Varna. The landing bans will also impact the remaining Austrian Airlines route network.

“Of course, we understand that health is a top priority in the current situation. It remains a common goal to contain the pandemic. However, cross-the-board travel bans for entire countries - with extremely short notice - are an enormous challenge for us and our guests. We advocate a uniform and stable travel policy within the EU so as not to weaken Vienna's position as a flight hub in the long term. Business travellers and other transfer passengers will otherwise find alternative ways of getting to long-haul destinations”, says Austrian Airlines CCO Andreas Otto. “Together with the authorities and the airport, we want and must find a solution for transfer traffic in order to prevent uncontrolled entry as fast as possible”, the Austrian Airlines CCO continues.