Starting today: Flights to London
At 4:10 p.m. today, the moment had arrived: the first BA Euroflyer aircraft landed in Graz from London. The British Airways subsidiary, which has more than 20 aircraft, offers around 45 short- and medium-haul flights from London Gatwick. New additions include Rabat in Morocco and, as of today, Graz. Flights between Graz and London depart every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
Around 70 guests from politics, business, industry and tourism gathered at Graz Airport today to welcome the maiden flight.
Karen Hilton, Managing Director of BA Euroflyer: ‘We are delighted that our first flight from London Gatwick has landed in Graz today. As the only direct connection between the two cities, we are proud to offer our customers more choice – whether they are travelling for business, pleasure or to visit friends.’
Wolfgang Grimus, Managing Director of Graz Airport: ‘This is a good day for Graz Airport and its passengers! The London connection is a great benefit for all passenger segments: this includes tourists and business travellers from both sides, of course, but also the VFR (visit friends & relatives) segment, for whom a long-awaited reunion will now be so much easier.’
Lindsay Skoll, British Ambassador to Austria: “There is hardly anything that strengthens the already excellent bilateral relations between Austria and the United Kingdom better than direct flight connections. From business and science to culture and tourism, many people will benefit from this new opportunity to travel easily between Graz and London, because the historical ties between our two countries are particularly strong in southern Austria. We look back on a long history of friendship and are delighted to add another chapter to it thanks to BA Euroflyer and Graz Airport.”
Mayor Elke Kahr: ‘The direct connection to London opens up a whole range of new opportunities for passengers from Graz and the surrounding regions. I am delighted that BA Euroflyer is opening another gateway and, of course, I hope that this will encourage visitors from the United Kingdom to discover our city for themselves.’
Provincial Councillor Stefan Hermann: “The launch of the flight connection between Graz and London is an important step towards improving the provincial capital’s connections to European cities. For Styria as a business location and its numerous leading companies, the regular connection is a major advantage which, in addition to its benefits for tourism, will also contribute to the long-term strengthening of the Green Mark and its companies. In this context, I would like to thank everyone at Graz Airport who is continuously working to expand the range of routes on offer.”
Deputy Governor Manuela Khom emphasised the importance of this flight connection for the local business location: “Styria earns every second euro abroad and is heavily dependent on international exchange and cross-border trade. I am therefore delighted that we will soon have a regular flight connection from Graz to the economic and financial metropolis of London. This is not only a significant boost for the airport, but also an important signal to business, trade and tourism in Styria. I look forward to welcoming guests from the United Kingdom to Graz Airport in the near future!”
Kurt Hohensinner, City Councillor for Economic Affairs and Tourism: “The new direct connection from London to Graz is an important step towards the international networking of our city. It strengthens Graz as a business location by improving global accessibility and at the same time opens up new perspectives for tourism and our regional economy. With this connection, we are positioning Graz as a gateway between South-Eastern Europe and one of the world’s most important cities. In doing so, we are creating a strong link for investment, strategic partnerships and international exchange. The city government continues to be challenged to establish industry- and business-relevant flight connections in Graz in order to strengthen the competitiveness of our business location.”
Sylvia Loidolt, Chairwoman, and Susanne Haubenhofer, Managing Director of the Graz Region Tourism Association: “The maiden flight of the direct London Gatwick–Graz connection is a significant step towards further developing the United Kingdom as a market for tourism in the greater Graz area. Together with Steiermark Tourismus, we are implementing targeted campaigns and marketing measures to position the Graz and Styria region as an attractive destination for British guests. We are confident that this step will attract many new visitors from the UK and look forward to the coming months with promising prospects and opportunities.”
Wolfgang Malik, owner representative of Graz Airport, emphasises that “a direct route between Graz, one of Austria’s most important regional airports, and the metropolis of London has been pursued for a long time and is therefore an important step in the 20th anniversary year of the airport’s takeover by the Holding Graz Group. The route to London with British Airways will strengthen the location quality of Graz Airport for the Styrian economy and enable mutually attractive tourism offers. With the Koralmbahn railway and the closer proximity of Carinthia and Styria, not only will the catchment area of Graz Airport be expanded, but this new connection to the United Kingdom will also further establish the provincial capital of Graz as a dynamic hub in the southern region.”
British Airways is a member of the oneworld alliance.
oneworld is a global airline alliance that brings together 15 of the world’s leading airlines committed to providing travellers with the highest standards of service and comfort. The alliance’s members serve nearly 1,000 destinations worldwide.
