Austrian Airlines will once again link Vienna with Spain’s booming Costa Blanca. In a press release and local Spanish media briefings on 6 November 2025, the Lufthansa-Group carrier confirmed that it will launch twice-weekly Airbus A320 flights between Vienna International Airport (VIE) and Alicante-Elche Miguel Hernández Airport (ALC) from 1 April 2026. The service will run on Wednesdays and Sundays, timed for weekend leisure breaks but also convenient for Monday-morning business meetings in Vienna.
The move closes a 22-year gap: Austrian last served Alicante in 2004, when it carried more than 52,000 passengers on the route. Management pulled out amid post-9/11 capacity cuts and reorganisations. Today the market fundamentals have changed. Alicante is one of Spain’s fastest-growing tech-startup hubs and a magnet for Northern European remote workers, while Vienna remains a top headquarters city for Central-European corporates. Seat demand has rebounded strongly; passenger volumes between Austria and Spain are already 18 % above pre-pandemic 2019 levels according to VIE airport data. Austrian’s network planners say the Vienna hub can deliver one-stop connectivity to 130 onward destinations, making the new link attractive for Spanish exporters heading to Central & Eastern Europe.
![Austrian Airlines Restarts Vienna–Alicante Route After 22-Year Hiatus]()
Corporate-travel managers welcome the additional capacity. Many have been funnelling travellers onto low-cost connections via Palma or Barcelona, or split-ticketing onto Lufthansa via Frankfurt. A non-stop option cuts total door-to-door journey times by up to three hours and reduces the risk of misconnections that have plagued multi-segment itineraries this year. For globally mobile staff based in Alicante’s growing cluster of shared-service centres, the Sunday evening flight into Vienna also dovetails neatly with the Monday-to-Thursday “flex-week” now common among hybrid teams.
In practical terms, companies should update travel-policy booking tools early: published fares are already live in global distribution systems. Introductory round-trip economy pricing starts at €189, with business-class from €699. Negotiated corporate-contracts can be filed from 15 November. Frequent flyers will earn full Miles&More credits, and Star Alliance Gold members may use the new VIP Fast-Lane that Vienna airport is trialling for Schengen departures. Finally, mobility specialists should note that Austrian Airlines intends to code-share the flights with fellow Star partner Brussels Airlines, giving Belgian assignees an alternative one-stop itinerary via Vienna when direct Brussels–Alicante services are full.
The move closes a 22-year gap: Austrian last served Alicante in 2004, when it carried more than 52,000 passengers on the route. Management pulled out amid post-9/11 capacity cuts and reorganisations. Today the market fundamentals have changed. Alicante is one of Spain’s fastest-growing tech-startup hubs and a magnet for Northern European remote workers, while Vienna remains a top headquarters city for Central-European corporates. Seat demand has rebounded strongly; passenger volumes between Austria and Spain are already 18 % above pre-pandemic 2019 levels according to VIE airport data. Austrian’s network planners say the Vienna hub can deliver one-stop connectivity to 130 onward destinations, making the new link attractive for Spanish exporters heading to Central & Eastern Europe.
Corporate-travel managers welcome the additional capacity. Many have been funnelling travellers onto low-cost connections via Palma or Barcelona, or split-ticketing onto Lufthansa via Frankfurt. A non-stop option cuts total door-to-door journey times by up to three hours and reduces the risk of misconnections that have plagued multi-segment itineraries this year. For globally mobile staff based in Alicante’s growing cluster of shared-service centres, the Sunday evening flight into Vienna also dovetails neatly with the Monday-to-Thursday “flex-week” now common among hybrid teams.
In practical terms, companies should update travel-policy booking tools early: published fares are already live in global distribution systems. Introductory round-trip economy pricing starts at €189, with business-class from €699. Negotiated corporate-contracts can be filed from 15 November. Frequent flyers will earn full Miles&More credits, and Star Alliance Gold members may use the new VIP Fast-Lane that Vienna airport is trialling for Schengen departures. Finally, mobility specialists should note that Austrian Airlines intends to code-share the flights with fellow Star partner Brussels Airlines, giving Belgian assignees an alternative one-stop itinerary via Vienna when direct Brussels–Alicante services are full.
