Salzburg Airport has unveiled its summer 2026 timetable, doubling-down on short-haul demand from Austrian leisure travellers and inbound tour groups. Starting late March, Spanish beach hub Alicante and Sardinia’s capital Cagliari will join the network, while a new twice-weekly service to Genoa is billed as a game-changer for cruise operators by offering a same-day air-sea connection to one of the Mediterranean’s busiest embarkation ports. Airport managers say the mix should help the regional gateway claw back the last five percent of passenger volumes still missing from pre-pandemic 2019 levels.(salzburg.orf.at)
The upbeat launch, however, comes with an immediate operational caveat. Lufthansa cockpit and cabin crews in Germany have called a 24-hour walk-out for Thursday, 12 February, in a long-running dispute over pension reform. Because Salzburg’s thrice-daily Frankfurt rotation is operated by German-registered aircraft and crews, all six movements have already been cancelled. The airport’s contingency cell expects knock-on effects on connecting itineraries to North America and Asia, and has activated its rebooking desks in Terminal 1.(salzburg.orf.at)
![Salzburg Airport adds Mediterranean routes but braces for Lufthansa strike disruption]()
Before rearranging travel plans, passengers should also double-check any visa or entry requirements for their new routings. VisaHQ’s Austria portal (https://www.visahq.com/austria/) lets travellers and travel managers see at a glance whether a visa or ESTA is needed, submit applications online, and track processing in real time—handy if a last-minute diversion sends you via a country you hadn’t originally planned to enter.
Corporate mobility managers with staff transiting through Frankfurt are advised to reroute via Vienna or Zurich where spare capacity still exists, or to shift urgent meetings online. Austrian rail operator ÖBB reports adequate seating on overnight Railjet services, although sleepers are already close to sold out. Under EU261 rules, travellers on the cancelled flights are entitled to rerouting or a refund, but compensation does not apply because the strike is deemed an ‘extraordinary circumstance’. Travel insurers typically refund additional accommodation up to €150 per night if a written airline confirmation is obtained.
Looking further ahead, Salzburg Airport says negotiations with low-cost carriers could add two more Mediterranean cities before the peak July–August holiday window. Management also confirmed that a tender for new Schengen e-gates will be issued in April to accelerate border clearance once the EU Entry/Exit System becomes mandatory on 10 April. That upgrade should ease concerns about processing times when the charter-heavy Friday wave coincides with non-EU tour groups. For now, passengers are urged to check airline apps, arrive at least two hours before departure, and monitor the airport’s live Twitter feed for any further strike spill-over.
The upbeat launch, however, comes with an immediate operational caveat. Lufthansa cockpit and cabin crews in Germany have called a 24-hour walk-out for Thursday, 12 February, in a long-running dispute over pension reform. Because Salzburg’s thrice-daily Frankfurt rotation is operated by German-registered aircraft and crews, all six movements have already been cancelled. The airport’s contingency cell expects knock-on effects on connecting itineraries to North America and Asia, and has activated its rebooking desks in Terminal 1.(salzburg.orf.at)
Before rearranging travel plans, passengers should also double-check any visa or entry requirements for their new routings. VisaHQ’s Austria portal (https://www.visahq.com/austria/) lets travellers and travel managers see at a glance whether a visa or ESTA is needed, submit applications online, and track processing in real time—handy if a last-minute diversion sends you via a country you hadn’t originally planned to enter.
Corporate mobility managers with staff transiting through Frankfurt are advised to reroute via Vienna or Zurich where spare capacity still exists, or to shift urgent meetings online. Austrian rail operator ÖBB reports adequate seating on overnight Railjet services, although sleepers are already close to sold out. Under EU261 rules, travellers on the cancelled flights are entitled to rerouting or a refund, but compensation does not apply because the strike is deemed an ‘extraordinary circumstance’. Travel insurers typically refund additional accommodation up to €150 per night if a written airline confirmation is obtained.
Looking further ahead, Salzburg Airport says negotiations with low-cost carriers could add two more Mediterranean cities before the peak July–August holiday window. Management also confirmed that a tender for new Schengen e-gates will be issued in April to accelerate border clearance once the EU Entry/Exit System becomes mandatory on 10 April. That upgrade should ease concerns about processing times when the charter-heavy Friday wave coincides with non-EU tour groups. For now, passengers are urged to check airline apps, arrive at least two hours before departure, and monitor the airport’s live Twitter feed for any further strike spill-over.
