Graz Airport , 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, south

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 was built in Graz. The runway was extended to 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 , 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 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 and Turkish Airlines to Istanbul Atatürk Airport. 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.

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. Yet with all these new routes, the route from Graz to Stuttgart, which was established in 2021, was discontinued in April of 2023.

In 2024, Graz had recovered approximately 79 percent of its passenger numbers compared to before the COVID-19 pandemic.

Airlines and destinations

The following airlines offer regular scheduled, seasonal, and charter flights at Graz Airport:

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Incidents and accidents

thumb|Check-in area

thumb|Control tower

  • 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. The aircraft was evacuated using the emergency slides, 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.

Ground transport

Road

Graz Airport is accessible via motorways A9 (exit Kalsdorf) and A2 (exit Flughafen Graz/Feldkirchen). A bus stop can be found next to the arrival area. Regional bus line 630 operates service to Graz, the transfer to central Graz takes approximately 25-50 minutes.

See also

  • Transport in Austria
  • List of airports in Austria

References

  • Styrian Public Transport Association, route planner for public transport on the ground
  • Accident history for GRZ at Aviation Safety Network