A summer with travel chaos

Austrian airlines and airports have tried reassuring travellers that the country has enough workers on the ground to keep travel running smoothly. However, sector representatives also warned they couldn’t influence what happens abroad.

Budget airlines have already announced strikes in locations including Spain, France, Italy, and Portugal, as The Local reported. German airline Lufthansa has also cancelled more than 3,000 flights during the summer holidays at the hubs of Frankfurt and Munich.

READ ALSO: Strikes and queues: How airline passengers in Europe face summer travel chaos

But it’s not just air travel that has been affected by growing tourism and a shortage of personnel, among other factors.

The increased demand for train travel has also caused people to be “bumped” from overcrowded trains in Austria. Holidays are also the time when car traffic becomes more intense, with expected heavy traffic as summer vacations arrive.

READ ALSO:

• EXPLAINED: How to not be ‘bumped’ from an overcrowded Austrian train
• What is Austria’s ‘traffic calendar’ and how can it help me save time?

Covid-19 mandatory vaccination law to be abolished

Austria will cancel its mandatory Covid-19 vaccination law, as The Local reported. The announcement was made in June, but a motion to formally abolish the controversial law should pass in parliament early in July.

The rule allowed police to check people’s vaccination status and issue fines to those that could not show a valid “green pass”, indicating they had all necessary vaccines or had recently recovered from the disease. It was suspended in March before any checks or fines were issued.

The federal government said the new, “milder” variants did not justify the strict regulation. They also acknowledged that the mandate didn’t incentivise people to get the jab.

READ ALSO: Covid-19: European summer holidays threatened by rise of subvariants

End of the failed ‘Kaufhaus Österreich’ project

The “Kaufhaus Österreich” project launched in 2020 under the former Economics Minister Margarete Schramböck (ÖVP) is to be brought to an end on July 1st.

It was initially intended as an online retailer directory designed to bring online sales to local businesses when shops were closed during the pandemic. Then the page was changed into an information platform for traders.

The Digital State Secretariat estimated the cost of the failed project at almost €950,000, Der Standard newspaper reports.

School’s out!

The school summer vacations start in July and last until early or mid-September, depending on the state.

In Burgenland, Lower Austria, and Vienna, the holidays start on July 2nd. The remaining states start a week later, on July 9th.

READ ALSO: The best Austrian wineries to visit this summer

There are no national bank holidays during July in Austria.

Festivals and events

Summer is full of events and with Covid restrictions lifted, Austria is ready to host some of its largest festivals again. 

In July, people can look forward to River Days and Mid Europe Music Festival in Styria, the Wetterleuchten Festival in Innsbruck, several open-air cinemas and Vienna’s Rathaus culture and culinary festival, among others.

READ ALSO: The best festivals and events to enjoy in Austria this summer