Vienna-Schwechat Airport will be implementing stricter controls, according to the Ministry of Internal Affairs announcement.
The same notes that the airport is the largest border control point in the country, while the border control area of this airport has been further expanded to include 120 additional employees in recent years.Besides, it notes that Vienna-Schwechat Airport is both a workplace for many professional groups and an international transport and travel hub.
“The safety of everyone at the airport has a top priority, which is why the number of staff is being increased and the technical equipment extensively modernised. I would like to thank Vienna Airport for the close cooperation that has been tried and tested for decades,” Interior Minister Gerhard Karner pointed out during the presentation of new security measures on August 2 in Schwechat.
CEO of Flughafen Wien AG, Günther Ofner, said that holidays represent peak activity at the airport that can only be managed with good cooperation with all local partners. He added that cooperation with Vienna Airport’s executive and border control works excellently.
Ofner said that they have invested a two-digit million amount in the expansion of border controls, and other fully automatic E-Gates are investing.
Austria’s Minister of the Interior, Gerhard Karner, said that police officers have three main areas of activity at Vienna- Schwechat Airport:
- Law enforcement
- Criminal investigation
- Border controls
Among the most important fields, according to the Ministry, is protecting the infrastructure. The statement notes that the airport has a daily passenger volume of over 100,000 passengers, and thus it is subject to high-security requirements, emphasizing different international threats have brought increasing challenges for law enforcement officers.
The second important field is criminal investigation, after the airport, as a hub for international travel, according to the Ministry, involves several forms of crime.
At the same time, border controls are the third central task of the executive.
“Vienna-Schwechat Airport is Austria’s largest border control point, which poses a major challenge given the high volume of passengers. Every control must be carried out with regard to aircraft security, airport security and the prevention of illegal entries and the use of forged documents,” the statement reads.
According to the Ministry, the number of border controls is to be increased from 40 to 100. Besides, it was emphasised that ten more e-gates would be purchased. In addition, the staff of the Lower Austria State Police Headquarters has increased from 540 to about 600 since December 1, 2020, thus corresponding to a 20 per cent increase.
