Airport operators have reported a record year in 2025 and a Vienna jury has acquitted a man accused over an SS-themed T-shirt, plus more stories from Austria on Wednesday.
Austria’s airports report strong 2025, but warn 2026 will be harder in Vienna
Passenger numbers at Vienna, Graz, Linz and Klagenfurt airports rose in 2025 and Vienna reported a new record, according to Kurier. Flughafen Wien said it handled 32.6 million passengers and 313,763 tonnes of freight. The operators also flagged a more difficult outlook for 2026 in Vienna.
Flughafen Wien chief executive Julian Jäger said demand for flights remained strong, including a 21 percent rise on routes to East Asia. Turkey, Israel, and the United Arab Emirates saw the largest increases in destinations, while the five regional airports named in the article recorded mixed growth, and Salzburg reported a slight decline.
Vienna expects passenger numbers to fall to 30 million in 2026, with the report citing the departure of Wizz Air to Bratislava and a reduction of Ryanair services.
Vienna jury acquits man in SS T-shirt Verbotsgesetz case
A Vienna jury has acquitted a 54-year-old man accused under Austria’s Verbotsgesetz after he wore an SS-themed T-shirt in public, according to Der Standard.
The defendant, a Polish tradesman who has lived in Vienna for more than 10 years, said he did not understand the symbols on the shirt.
The report said the man wore the T-shirt on September 6th in Vienna and Vösendorf, including while shopping and visiting a pizzeria, before a witness photographed him and his car and filed a complaint. His defence argued there was no intent to commit prohibited Nazi reactivation, and the jury acquitted him by five votes to three.
“I saw an ad on Facebook and clicked on it,” the defendant was quoted as saying. “I liked the color,” is his surprising explanation. “I didn’t even know what the Waffen-SS was. I only know that the Germans murdered people in Poland and had a swastika,” he added, saying that history lessons during communist Poland were weak.
Northern lights spotted over parts of Lower Austria after solar storm
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The northern lights were visible over parts of Lower Austria on Monday night into Tuesday morning, triggered by a solar storm, according to ORF Lower Austria. The report said the phenomenon was seen in multiple districts including Krems, St. Pölten, Zwettl, Scheibbs and Baden. GeoSphere Austria said further aurora nights are possible later in the year.
Polar lights occur when charged particles from the solar wind collide with Earth’s magnetic field, and the strength of this event meant it could be seen across the Alps. The storm’s measured field strength was around ten times the average value.
“This is the strongest value recorded in at least 31 years,” said Christian Möstl of GeoSphere Austria’s Space Weather Office.
Two suspects named in probe into sabotage claim at Kickl climbing route
Police are investigating two named suspects and other unknown perpetrators after bolts were removed from a climbing route first opened by FPÖ leader Herbert Kickl in the Hochschwab area of Styria, according to Kleine Zeitung. The alleged sabotage was claimed by left-wing activists in a post last March.
Activists claimed they destroyed the route “Geheimer Schwob”, which Kickl helped establish in October 2020 on the 1,450-metre Ausweichkogel. Mountain police checked the site after the post and said the bolts used for protection were missing, meaning the route could no longer be climbed safely in its normal form, and the Styrian FPÖ Landtag group offered a €1,000 reward for information.
The report said the investigation is ongoing, and that an answer to a parliamentary question stated no further details could be given because it is a non-public procedure and because of privacy rights and the risk of jeopardising the investigation.
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What’s happening in Austria today
The Federal Chancellery lists a morning press conference at 8.30am on a planned mandatory “values charter” for recognised refugees, alongside measures targeting political Islam and extremism, and the Nationalrat is scheduled to hold its first plenary sitting of 2026, with items including school laws, corporate sustainability reporting, income tax and motions on asylum and citizenship.
The unions GPA and vida are holding a works council conference in Graz at 11 am on stalled collective bargaining in the private care and social services sector, ahead of the next bargaining round on January 26th.
Travel remains affected by rail works, including the Weststrecke closure between Innsbruck Hauptbahnhof and Rum, the weekday S80 shutdown between Wien Hauptbahnhof and Wien Aspern Nord from 10 am to 7 pm, and restrictions on the Franz-Josefs-Bahn including platform closures at Wien Franz-Josefs-Bahnhof.
Innsbruck Airport also notes that Austrian armed forces airspace security operations linked to WEF Davos will continue through January 24th.
Sport listings include downhill training in Kitzbühel at 11.30 am, junior slalom runs at 10.15 am and 1.30 pm, and ICE Hockey League games in the evening. F
The forecast notes for Wednesday also point to very cold conditions, cold-stress warnings overnight into the morning in several cities, and avalanche bulletins warning that weak layers and wind slabs can still be triggered at higher elevations.
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Vocabulary
das Verbotsgesetz – Austria’s law banning Nazi reactivation
der Freispruch – acquittal
das Polarlicht – aurora or northern lights
die Fluggäste – airline passengers
die Sachbeschädigung – criminal damage
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