There is a major runway renewal project going on at the delightful Salzburg Airport at the moment, which effectively closes the airport until the end of May this year.
This renovation work means that all flights have had to be suspended, however, to help mitigate the situation, Austrian Airlines is offering expanded travel options by train between Salzburg’s Central Station and Vienna Airport.
The existing AIRail cooperation with the Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB) will be increased tenfold from three to up to 30 daily train connections until one week after the shutdown of the runway. Accordingly, a Railjet with an Austrian Airlines flight number linking Salzburg and Vienna will be available to passengers every hour between 5 each morning until 2030.
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| Photo ÖBB |
Austrian Airlines customers enjoy various advantages, for example, a guaranteed connection, regardless of whether their journey continues by plane or train. This means that in the case of an unexpected delay of the train or flight, passengers will be automatically booked on an alternative connecting service if they do not reach their train or flight on time. Business Class passengers travel in first class on the train and are also given free access to the ÖBB lounge before departure. Moreover, passengers can collect miles on AIRail route within the context of the Miles & More program. Finally, there is also a catering voucher, which can be used in the ÖBB dining car. Travel time between Salzburg Central Station and Vienna Airport amounts to 2 hours 49 minutes.
The refurbishment of the 60-year-old runway will take some time and follows a difficult and exhausting process. 200 construction works will be employed between 0600 and 2200 each day turning the old concrete of the existing runway into the foundations of the new one. 120.000 tonnes of asphalt will be built into the structures with a maximum per day of 8.000 tonnes meaning between 80 – 100 trucks will be in permanent use, with one arriving every 3 minutes. The new runway will have around 140 km of high voltage cable and 45 km of low voltage cable and around 1000 LED lights.
The schedule for the work:
28.04.-18.05. Asphalt works for the four layers
12.05-15.05. Drillings for installing the modern LED runway lights including wiring
12.05-15.05. The top layer of the asphalt runway will be treated with high-pressure water to get rid of the sticky layer of bitumen
13.05-22.05. The runway receives the required markings and signs, the edges of the runway will be grassed or planted
22.05.-28.05. Remaining tasks and commissioning, inspections, tests and final checks
27.05.-28.05. Final official negotiations, acceptance of work, security area is restored
29.05. First landing on the new runway 15/33
Watch the ongoing project on the airport's webcam.
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