[2] It is the country's largest airport and serves as the hub for Austrian Airlines as well as a base for low-cost carriers Ryanair and Wizz Air.

The airport features a dense network of European destinations as well as long-haul flights to Asia, North America and Africa.

Originally built as a military airport in 1938 and used during World War II as the Heinkel firm's southern military aircraft design and production complex, or Heinkel-Süd facility, it was taken over by the British in 1945 and became RAF Schwechat under the occupation of the country.

[3] Flughafen Wien AG [de], one of the few publicly traded airport operators in Europe, was privatised in 1992.

It allows a free overview of the entire airport area and offers a night laser show, which aims to welcome the passengers even from the aircraft.

[citation needed] To accommodate future growth, in 1998 Vienna Airport published a master plan that outlined expansion projects until 2015.

[8] Following concerns over the mismanagement of the Skylink project, chief executive Herbert Kaufman agreed to resign at the end of December 2010.

The so-called T3 Southern Enlargement will be offering 70,000 m2 (750,000 sq ft) of leisure area, 10,000 m² of which will be used for shops and restaurants etc.

[13] Construction for the new terminal annex subsequently started in February 2024 with a completion date expected for early 2027.

[15] Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic the airport projected that a third runway will be necessary by 2025,[16] however, environmental organizations and some local communities oppose construction.

[17] These groups have attacked the decision of Lower Austria (the state in which the airport is located) to move ahead with the first phase of construction.

Since December 2014, the first trains passing Vienna's new main station, ICE services from Germany, terminate at the airport.

The airport lies directly adjacent to motorway A4 which leads from central Vienna to Budapest.

Buses operate from the airport to various places in Vienna and to other cities including Bratislava, Budapest and Brno.