In the last few days alone, over 100,000 passengers have taken off or landed. Vienna-Schwechat Airport is a major transport hub and is therefore classified as critical infrastructure. On Wednesday Interior Minister Gerhard Karner (ÖVP) presented new measures intended to increase security at the airport.
“Holidays mean peak activity at the airport and this can only be managed with good cooperation with all location partners. The cooperation with the executive and the border control at Vienna Airport works excellently. Thanks to their commitment, the crime statistics at the location have been declining for many years and Vienna Airport is one of the safest airports in Europe! Our passengers can continue to rely on that,” says Günther Ofner, Member of the Management Board of Flughafen Wien AG. Therefore, three main fields of activity at the airport are relevant for the police officers. “The safety of everyone at the airport has top priority, which is why the number of staff is being increased and the technical equipment extensively modernized,” said the Minister of the Interior during the presentation. In the first field of activity, the police officers at the airport are responsible for protecting the infrastructure and passengers. They are also responsible for checking unclaimed luggage and handling state visits. In the second area is the criminal investigation department. Because the airport as a meeting point for international travel activities brings with it various forms of crime. The focus here is primarily on action against drug trafficking, but also against the smuggling mafia. The third and central task of the executive are border controls. Aircraft security and airport security are checked. Prevention of illegal entry and the use of forged documents will be ensured. In order to intensify border controls, work is being carried out to introduce an automated and Europe-wide registration system for third-country nationals. This is intended to determine the permitted length of stay in the Schengen area, with which visa abuse can be combated and networking with criminal police search systems can be ensured. Targeted operational training with Cobra The number of border control booths is to be increased from 40 to 100 booths. The bunks are still being built in mutual agreement between the police and the airport. In addition, ten more e-gates will be purchased. The staff of the Lower Austria State Police Headquarters has been increased from around 540 to around 660 since December 1, 2020. On August 1, 2023, a new course started with border police assistants who support the police officers on site. The training takes place entirely on site at the airport. Together with the EKO Cobra, a target group-oriented operational training for the colleagues of the security service Vienna-Schwechat Airport takes place. The ongoing pilot project is to be transferred to regular operation by the end of the year. In addition to the regular operational training, the colleagues receive 40 additional hours of training. The interior minister emphasized that security measures are being taken on an ongoing basis in order to further increase security at the airport.
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