Graz Airport

Graz Airport

*Flughafen Graz*
Graz Airport; Flughafen Graz
	IATA: GRZ; ICAO: LOWG;
Summary
Airport type	Public
Owner	Holding Graz - Kommunale Dienstleistungen GmbH (93.9 %)
Operator	Flughafen Graz Betriebs GmbH
Serves	Graz
Location	Abtissendorf, Feldkirchen and Thalerhof, Kalsdorf, Styria, Austria
Elevation AMSL	340 m / 1,115 ft
Coordinates	46°59′35″N 015°26′21″E / 46.99306°N 15.43917°E
Website	graz-airport.at/en/
Map
	GRZ Location of airport in Austria
Runways
Statistics (2023)
Passengers
Passengers	733,146
Aircraft movements	9,655
Cargo (metric tons)	19,379
	Sources: Austrian AIP at EUROCONTROL; Statistics, Graz Airport Annual Reports 2021 and 2022.

Graz Airport (IATA: GRZ, ICAO: LOWG), known as Flughafen Graz in German, is a primary international airport serving southern Austria. It is located near Graz, the second-largest city in Austria, in the municipalities of Feldkirchen and Kalsdorf, 5 NM (9.3 km; 5.8 mi) south^[1] of Graz city centre.

Location

Graz Airport spans the village of Abtissendorf in Feldkirchen municipality and the cadastral community of Thalerhof in Kalsdorf municipality. The airport terminal is located in Abtissendorf.

History

Early years

Construction of the airport began in 1913 with the construction of a grass runway and the first hangars; the airport saw its first flight in 1914. It was the site of Thalerhof internment camp, run by the governments of Franz Joseph I of Austria and Charles I of Austria. The first domestic passenger flight in Austria in 1925 serviced the route Vienna–Graz–Klagenfurt. In 1930 Yugoslav flag carrier Aeroput started regular flights linking Yugoslav capital Belgrade with Vienna with stops in Zagreb and Graz.^[5]^[6] In 1937, construction of a terminal building began due to increase in the number of passengers.

After the end of the Second World War, Austria was forbidden to possess either a military or civilian aviation fleet. After the reopening of Austrian airspace in 1951, a new concrete runway of 1,500 metres (4,921 ft) was built in Graz. The runway was extended to 2,000 metres (6,562 ft) in 1962. The route network grew quickly and the first international scheduled flight started in 1966 with flights to Frankfurt.

In 1969, the runway was extended again, this time to 2,500 metres (8,202 ft), and construction of a new terminal building became necessary. Highlights were visits by Concorde in 1981 and by a Boeing 747 on the occasion of the airport's 70th anniversary in 1984. Ten years later, another new building was constructed with a maximum annual capacity of 750,000 passengers. The latest extension of the runway was to 3,000 metres (9,843 ft) in 1998.

Development in the 2000s

In early 21st century, the number of passengers exceeded the 750,000 mark and in 2004 was just below 900,000. This led to the final extension of the current terminal building in 2003 and the construction of a second terminal in 2005.

In summer 2015, the airport received two new routes to European hubs: Swiss International Air Lines to Zurich^[7] and Turkish Airlines to Istanbul Atatürk Airport.^[8] Though Turkish Airlines discontinued their services to Istanbul in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, Swiss International Air Lines announced it would increase the frequency of flights between Zürich and Graz in summer 2023.^[9]

In December 2022, Eurowings announced that it will establish an additional base at Graz Airport, starting in 2023. This major commitment to Graz features nine new routes, with two of them linking Graz to Berlin and Hamburg and the other ones being leisure routes. Furthermore, the overall frequencies of already existing services to Düsseldorf and Palma de Mallorca will be enhanced.^[10] Yet with all these new routes, the route from Graz to Stuttgart, which was established in 2021, was discontinued in April of 2023.^[11]

In 2023, Graz had recovered approximately 71 percent of its passenger numbers compared to before the COVID-19 pandemic.^[12]

Facilities

The passenger terminal building features shops, travel agencies, a restaurant and cafés, conference facilities, a bank, car rental and service counters. The apron provides stands for aircraft up to the size of a Boeing 747 or An-124. There are no jet bridges, mobile stairways are used for boarding. The airport has a VIP lounge for business class customers and customers with priority status.

While there are no scheduled cargo flights to the airport, charter flights are regularly conducted, especially for time-critical cargo like automotive parts.

Airlines and destinations

The following airlines offer regular scheduled, seasonal, and charter flights at Graz Airport:^[13]

Airlines	Destinations
Air Dolomiti	Frankfurt,^[14] Munich^[15]
Austrian Airlines	Vienna^[16]
Avanti Air	Seasonal charter: Calvi,^[17] Kefalonia,^[18] Paros,^[19] Skiathos^[19]
Corendon Airlines	Seasonal: Antalya, Heraklion,^[20] Hurghada
Croatia Airlines	Seasonal charter: Brač^[17]
European Air Charter	Seasonal charter: Heraklion^[18]
Eurowings	Berlin,^[21] Düsseldorf,^[22] Hamburg^[21] Seasonal: Chania,^[21] Corfu,^[21] Gran Canaria,^[23] Heraklion (begins 26 May 2025),^[24] Hurghada,^[25]^[26] Karpathos,^[26] Kos,^[21] Larnaca,^[21] Palma de Mallorca,^[17] Rhodes,^[25]^[26] Tenerife–South^[23]
Pegasus Airlines	Seasonal: Antalya (begins 12 April 2025)^[27]
SunExpress	Antalya^[28]
Swiss International Air Lines	Zürich^[29]

Incidents and accidents

On 23 December 2024, Swiss International Air Lines Flight 1885, an Airbus A220-300 registered as HB-JCD, flying from Bucharest, Romania, to Zurich, Switzerland, diverted to Graz Airport due to smoke development in the cabin.^[30] The aircraft was evacuated using the emergency slides,^[31] and 17 passengers and 5 crew members were hospitalized. SWISS announced on 30 December 2024 that one of the flight attendants had died in the hospital.^[32]

Access

Public transport

A bus stop can be found next to the arrival area.^[33] Regional bus line 630 operates service to Graz, the transfer to central Graz takes approximately 25-50 minutes. The airport is within walking distance (approximately 420 metres, seven minutes on foot) of the Graz-Feldkirchen Airport Railway Station (Flughafen Graz-Feldkirchen Bahnhof). Line S5 (Graz to Spielfeld-Straß) connects the airport to Graz. The journey from the Graz-Feldkirchen Airport Railway Station to the Graz Central Station takes eleven minutes.

Car

Graz Airport is accessible via motorways A9 (exit Kalsdorf) and A2 (exit Flughafen Graz/Feldkirchen).

References

^ ^a ^b EAD Basic
^ "Kommerzielle Zivilluftfahrt 2021: Passagieraufkommen um 20,3% gestiegen, aber noch immer deutlich unter Vorkrisenniveau" [Commercial civil aviation 2021: Passenger traffic up 20.3%, but still well below pre-crisis levels.] (PDF; 66 KB). statistik.at (in German). Bundesanstalt Statistik Österreich. 24 February 2022. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
^ "Annual report 2021" (PDF). Graz Airport. Feldkirchen bei Graz: Flughafen Graz Betriebs GmbH. Retrieved 2 February 2023.
^ "Annual Report 2022" (PDF). Flughafen Graz (in German). Flughafen Graz Betriebs GmbH. May 2023. Retrieved 12 June 2023.
^ Drustvo za Vazdusni Saobracaj A D – Aeroput at europeanairlines.no
^ "World Airlines Directory". Flight International. 10 August 1944. p. 150.
^ "[Update 2] SWISS New European Routes for S15". Airline route. 7 October 2014. Archived from the original on 11 October 2014.
^ "Turkish Airlines Launches a New Route to Graz". Turkish Airlines (Press release). Retrieved 18 March 2015.
^ "Summer 2023: SWISS increases Zürich-Graz" (in German). 21 November 2022.
^ Gruber, Jan (6 December 2022). "Eurowings establishes base at Graz Airport (Eurowings errichtet Basis am Flughafen Graz)". aviation.direct. Retrieved 6 December 2022.
^ "Eurowings opens Graz base, becoming the airport's largest carrier in S23". 8 May 2023.
^ "Data, Facts & Figures". Feldkirchen: Graz Airport. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
^ "Summer flight schedule 2024". Graz Airport. Feldkirchen bei Graz: Flughafen Graz Betriebs GmbH. Retrieved 6 August 2024.
^ "Air Dolomiti Expands Lufthansa Codeshare in NW24".
^ "Air Dolomiti Expands Lufthansa Codeshare in NW24".
^ "Austrian Outlines Leased BRA ATR72 NS24 Operations". Aeroroutes.
^ ^a ^b ^c "SOMMERFLUGPLAN 2022" (PDF). Flughafen Graz (in German). 27 March 2022.
^ ^a ^b "Graz Airport - Summer schedule 2023" (PDF).
^ ^a ^b "Summer 2022: Springer Reisen flies with Austrian Airlines and Avanti Air". Aviation.direct. 15 February 2022.
^ "Graz: Eight scheduled destinations and new holiday destinations in summer 2022". February 2022.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f "Neue Direktflüge: Eurowings verbindet Graz mit Hamburg und Berlin". Kleine Zeitung (in German). 6 December 2022.
^ "AUA und Eurowings tauschen Strecken im Österreich-Deutschland-Verkehr". aviation.direct (in German). 28 September 2021.
^ ^a ^b "Eurowings NW23 Spain Network Additions". AeroRoutes.
^ "EUROWINGS NS25 NETWORK ADDITIONS – 23OCT24".
^ ^a ^b Liu, Jim (14 February 2023). "Eurowings NS23 Network Update – 12FEB23". Aeroroutes.com. Retrieved 5 January 2025.
^ ^a ^b ^c "New Routes and Destinations". 6 December 2022.
^ "Pegasus NS25 Network Additions – 22DEC24". Aeroroutes. Retrieved 27 December 2024.
^ "Sommer 2024: Sunexpress kehrt nach Graz zurück". 11 August 2023.
^ "SWISS NW24 Europe Frequency Changes – 27OCT24". Aeroroutes. Aeroroutes. Retrieved 30 October 2024.
^ SDA (30 December 2024). "Nach Notlandung in Graz: Swiss-Flugbegleiter weiter in kritischem Zustand". Blick (in Swiss High German). Retrieved 30 December 2024.
^ Ranter, Harro. "Accident Airbus A220-300 HB-JCD, Monday 23 December 2024". ASN. Retrieved 30 December 2024.
^ "Swiss cabin crew member dies after flight with smoke problems". Reuters. 31 December 2024. Retrieved 31 December 2024.
^ "Public transport". Flughafen Graz. Retrieved 24 September 2015.

External links

Media related to Graz Airport at Wikimedia Commons

Official website
Styrian Public Transport Association, route planner for public transport on the ground
Current weather for LOWG at NOAA/NWS
Accident history for GRZ at Aviation Safety Network

[AIP-1] EAD Basic

[statistik_austria-2] "Kommerzielle Zivilluftfahrt 2021: Passagieraufkommen um 20,3% gestiegen, aber noch immer deutlich unter Vorkrisenniveau" [Commercial civil aviation 2021: Passenger traffic up 20.3%, but still well below pre-crisis levels.] (PDF; 66 KB). statistik.at (in German). Bundesanstalt Statistik Österreich. 24 February 2022. Retrieved 1 February 2023.

[ann_rep_2021-3] "Annual report 2021" (PDF). Graz Airport. Feldkirchen bei Graz: Flughafen Graz Betriebs GmbH. Retrieved 2 February 2023.

[graz_airport_annual_report_2022-4] "Annual Report 2022" (PDF). Flughafen Graz (in German). Flughafen Graz Betriebs GmbH. May 2023. Retrieved 12 June 2023.

[5] Drustvo za Vazdusni Saobracaj A D – Aeroput at europeanairlines.no

[flight360-6] "World Airlines Directory". Flight International. 10 August 1944. p. 150.

[swiss-7] "[Update 2] SWISS New European Routes for S15". Airline route. 7 October 2014. Archived from the original on 11 October 2014.

[turkish-8] "Turkish Airlines Launches a New Route to Graz". Turkish Airlines (Press release). Retrieved 18 March 2015.

[9] "Summer 2023: SWISS increases Zürich-Graz" (in German). 21 November 2022.

[Eurowings_errichtet_Basis_2022-12-06-10] Gruber, Jan (6 December 2022). "Eurowings establishes base at Graz Airport (Eurowings errichtet Basis am Flughafen Graz)". aviation.direct. Retrieved 6 December 2022.

[EWbase-11] "Eurowings opens Graz base, becoming the airport's largest carrier in S23". 8 May 2023.

[12] "Data, Facts & Figures". Feldkirchen: Graz Airport. Retrieved 21 January 2024.

[sfs24-13] "Summer flight schedule 2024". Graz Airport. Feldkirchen bei Graz: Flughafen Graz Betriebs GmbH. Retrieved 6 August 2024.

[14] "Air Dolomiti Expands Lufthansa Codeshare in NW24".

[15] "Air Dolomiti Expands Lufthansa Codeshare in NW24".

[16] "Austrian Outlines Leased BRA ATR72 NS24 Operations". Aeroroutes.

[GRZ-17] "SOMMERFLUGPLAN 2022" (PDF). Flughafen Graz (in German). 27 March 2022.

[Summer-18] "Graz Airport - Summer schedule 2023" (PDF).

[Avanti-19] "Summer 2022: Springer Reisen flies with Austrian Airlines and Avanti Air". Aviation.direct. 15 February 2022.

[20] "Graz: Eight scheduled destinations and new holiday destinations in summer 2022". February 2022.

[Graz-21] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f "Neue Direktflüge: Eurowings verbindet Graz mit Hamburg und Berlin". Kleine Zeitung (in German). 6 December 2022.

[aviationdirect-22] "AUA und Eurowings tauschen Strecken im Österreich-Deutschland-Verkehr". aviation.direct (in German). 28 September 2021.

[EWEWinter23-23] "Eurowings NW23 Spain Network Additions". AeroRoutes.

[24] "EUROWINGS NS25 NETWORK ADDITIONS – 23OCT24".

[aeroroutes_230214-ewns23-25] Liu, Jim (14 February 2023). "Eurowings NS23 Network Update – 12FEB23". Aeroroutes.com. Retrieved 5 January 2025.

[Summer23-26] "New Routes and Destinations". 6 December 2022.

[27] "Pegasus NS25 Network Additions – 22DEC24". Aeroroutes. Retrieved 27 December 2024.

[28] "Sommer 2024: Sunexpress kehrt nach Graz zurück". 11 August 2023.

[29] "SWISS NW24 Europe Frequency Changes – 27OCT24". Aeroroutes. Aeroroutes. Retrieved 30 October 2024.

[30] SDA (30 December 2024). "Nach Notlandung in Graz: Swiss-Flugbegleiter weiter in kritischem Zustand". Blick (in Swiss High German). Retrieved 30 December 2024.

[31] Ranter, Harro. "Accident Airbus A220-300 HB-JCD, Monday 23 December 2024". ASN. Retrieved 30 December 2024.

[32] "Swiss cabin crew member dies after flight with smoke problems". Reuters. 31 December 2024. Retrieved 31 December 2024.

[33] "Public transport". Flughafen Graz. Retrieved 24 September 2015.

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Graz Airport

Location

History

Early years

Development in the 2000s

Facilities

Airlines and destinations

Incidents and accidents

Access

Public transport

Car

See also

References

External links

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