Visit of Vienna Airport and Airport City Space

The CdH delegation was invited to visit Vienna International Airport (VIE) and, as part of the event, to an introduction to the new business development and innovation centre “Airport City Space”.

Christoph Schmidt, Head of Business Development and Innovation, Vienna Airport, and

Thomas Eichtinger, Manager of Business Development and Innovation, Airport City Space, 

welcomed the CdH delegation in the premises of the Airport City Space, located at the base of the airport control tower.  They explained the concept of the new business development and innovation centre which has been set up with a central aim of providing all the necessary facilities for business people from outside Austria to meet with associates from within Austria or other foreign destinations, and then return home without having to travel into the city of Vienna. The centre is also set up as a recognised hub of the Plug-and-Play network of Vienna.

Then the delegation was taken up to the viewing floor in the airport control tower, the floor immediately beneath the air traffic control floor.  This vantage point offered a view over the entire VIE complex.  It was also possible to clearly see the new photovoltaic solar panel array (the largest in Austria) which the VIE had just inaugurated that very day.

Following this session, the visitors were taken on a bus tour by which all the main facilities of the VIE were to be seen and were explained – including the executive aircraft facilities and the airport’s impressive fire station.  Then, back at the Airport City Space, the about-to-retire CEO of the VIE, Dr Guenther Ofner, met with the CdH delegation and explained the current business environment of the airport and its future outlook – which he considered to be encouragingly positive considering the steady recovery from the adverse effects of the covid pandemic.

 

After the programme specifically arranged for the CdH event (as described above), all members of the delegation who wished to stay longer were invited to a separate event entitled “The Third Edition of Growth Society” on food and energy security in Europe.