After two decades of environmental litigation and design revisions, Flughafen Wien AG confirmed on 26 November that it has abandoned plans to build a third runway at Vienna International Airport. Co-CEO Julian Jaeger told ORF radio that updated projections showed the €2 billion investment would not deliver an adequate return, especially after key airline partners Austrian Airlines and Ryanair withdrew their support. Rising construction costs and a post-pandemic shift toward larger, better-filled aircraft mean the existing two-runway system can handle forecast growth.
For business-travel programmes the decision removes years of uncertainty over slot availability, noise-curfew changes and potential construction-phase disruption. The operator will write off €55.9 million in planning assets but insists its growth strategy remains intact, focusing instead on terminal modernisation and air-rail inter-modality. Shares in Flughafen Wien AG surged 4.5 % on the news, hitting a five-month high.
![Vienna Airport Scraps €2 Billion Third-Runway Plan, Says Existing Capacity Is Sufficient]()
Industry analysts note that Vienna handled 28 million passengers last year—still below the 31 million peak of 2019—suggesting latent capacity remains. With wide-body utilisation rising on key long-haul routes to Bangkok and New York, the airport believes peak-hour constraints can be mitigated through improved stand management and rapid-exit taxiways.
Corporate mobility teams should monitor slot filings for summer 2026 but do not need to budget for runway-surcharge fees previously floated to finance the project. Travellers can expect fewer construction-related detours inside the terminal, although air-traffic-control flow-management initiatives may still impose occasional departure spacing during rush hours.
For business-travel programmes the decision removes years of uncertainty over slot availability, noise-curfew changes and potential construction-phase disruption. The operator will write off €55.9 million in planning assets but insists its growth strategy remains intact, focusing instead on terminal modernisation and air-rail inter-modality. Shares in Flughafen Wien AG surged 4.5 % on the news, hitting a five-month high.
Industry analysts note that Vienna handled 28 million passengers last year—still below the 31 million peak of 2019—suggesting latent capacity remains. With wide-body utilisation rising on key long-haul routes to Bangkok and New York, the airport believes peak-hour constraints can be mitigated through improved stand management and rapid-exit taxiways.
Corporate mobility teams should monitor slot filings for summer 2026 but do not need to budget for runway-surcharge fees previously floated to finance the project. Travellers can expect fewer construction-related detours inside the terminal, although air-traffic-control flow-management initiatives may still impose occasional departure spacing during rush hours.
