- Increased services to tourist destinations
- Focus on Greece, Italy, Spain and many other holiday destinations
- “Travel facilitations are helping us”, says CCO Michael Trestl
At the same time as the relaxed entry rules enter into force in Austria and many European countries, Austrian Airlines is ramping up its tourist offer. Austria's home carrier is initially launching classic destinations such as Crete and Rhodes for the upcoming long weekend. Additionally, there are more flights to Athens and Thessaloniki. In June, further destinations such as Chania, Karpathos, Palma de Mallorca, Santorini, Skiathos and Zakynthos will follow. From July onwards, further routes such as Cagliari, Catania, Funchal, Gran Canaria, Ibiza, Kalamata, Mykonos, Naples, Olbia or Tenerife round off the offer. In total, Austrian Airlines is offering more than 100 destinations this summer – of which, with around 30 destinations, the clear focus is on holiday destinations in the Mediterranean region.
“With our strong summer offer, we are back to a pre-crisis level in the tourism segment. The demand is good, people want to travel. In addition, the new travel facilitations for Austria and various European countries are helping us - away from quarantine and towards vaccination, test and recovery certificates”, says Austrian Airlines CCO Michael Trestl.
No more quarantine for many countries
As of Wednesday, 19 May, quarantine will be no longer mandatory for many countries when entering Austria. It will be replaced by compulsory proof of vaccination, testing or recovery. This applies to Germany, Greece, Italy and Spain, among others.
Concurrently, these countries have also eased their entry restrictions. In Greece, passengers no longer have to quarantine upon arrival. Travelers entering the country only have to register and carry a vaccination certificate or a PCR test certificate. In Italy, the previous quarantine obligation for passengers has expired as well. In Spain, depending on the country of origin, passengers now also only have to carry proof of testing. Guests on all Austrian Airlines scheduled flights to Germany, Greece and Spain also have the possibility to upload corona-related travel documents and having them checked in advance. The voluntary upload is possible up to 12 hours prior flight departure. The result of the pre-check will be transmitted via e-mail no later than four hours before departure. In combination with the flexible and fee-free rebooking options offered by Austrian Airlines, passengers can thus plan their holidays without any worries.
Travel to Germany picks up speed again
In addition to the eased entry regulations at tourist destinations, Germany has also relaxed its travel requirements. Again, the quarantine requirement is replaced by mandatory proof of vaccination, testing or recovery, unless travelers are coming from a high incidence or virus variant area. Antigen tests no older than 48 hours and PCR tests no older than 72 hours are accepted.
“Travelling between Austria and Germany is now possible in both directions without quarantine. This is of course excellent news for us, as we can now offer our guests a broad program again. We expect more demand on our routes again”, explains CCO Michael Trestl. As of the end of this week, the Austrian Airlines destination portfolio to Germany is once more complete. Austria's home carrier will then fly again from Vienna to ten destinations, from Munich in the south to Hamburg in the north. The offer is to be increased successively.
Whether beach and family holidays, cultural, city or individual trips - Austrian Airlines' more than 100 summer destinations, including travel recommendations and booking options, are available to browse in the new digital showcase at destinations.austrianblog.com. On the Austrian Airlines website, passengers will find information on travelling in times of corona, mandatory wearing of masks, country-specific travel regulations or flexible rebooking arrangements. The information is updated on an ongoing basis.