[German: Wie kommt man von Wien zum Flughafen?]
Vienna International Airport (airport code: VIE) is outside the city limits, about 20km (12.5 miles) from the city center.
As you can imagine, the airport’s easy to reach by car, taxi, train or bus. Below are travel tips and details for each, but before we start, three helpful pointers:
- Most transport routes use the standard “plane” symbol on signs and information, but it might help to know that the German for airport is Flughafen. So Vienna airport is Flughafen Wien and you sometimes see it referred to by the name of the nearest major town – Flughafen Schwechat or Wien – Schwechat.
- The airport is outside the Vienna travel zone. That means single-journey public transport tickets and network passes for Vienna will only get you to the city limits and not the airport – you’ll need an additional ticket
- I’ve marked important stations and stops on a custom map at the bottom of the page
Note: check official sites and city-airport-city travel timetables for temporary changes/closures. Certain services may be unavailable or may run less frequently because of reduced international visitor numbers.
(The non-stop CAT train takes you from Wien Mitte station out to the airport in 16 minutes; press photo © 2022 City Airport Train)
Option 1: By taxi / car
The Welcome people’s airport pickup service* also offers a service for those going to the airport.
You can pre-book a car transfer from, for example, your accommodation with a local, English-speaking driver. Their prices are around the same as a taxi from the line.
Basic taxi transfers to the airport typically cost around €36. You can find a list of selected local airport taxi services here. Don’t forget to tip the driver.
Another alternative is a car sharing service or a service like Uber, of course, if you’re a user.
The journey
The airport and returns for hired cars* are easy to reach by road. Journey times depend, of course, on where you leave from and when. In good traffic, you can reach the airport from the centre of Vienna in around 20-25 minutes. In bad traffic, well…longer.
The address for your Sat-Nav is Abflugstrasse in the town of Schwechat, but it should be a POI anyway.
Simply leave Vienna southeast on the B227 road which runs parallel to the Danube canal and morphs into the A4 Ost-Autobahn (motorway). The airport is just off the motorway and has its own, clearly-signed exit (Junction 13, “Flughafen”).
Option 2: By train
Various train lines serve the airport, but these are probably your two main choices: the express CAT (City Airport Train) or the slower S7 Schnellbahn (city train).
The CAT
This is the dedicated train link between Vienna and the airport. It leaves from Wien Mitte station and delivers you to the airport (and vice versa) in 16 minutes, with no stops en route. The CAT largely paused services during the pandemic but resumed full operation at the end of March, 2022.
Wien Mitte is a fairly central and large station sitting on various public transport lines:
- Subway (U3 and U4)
- Tram (line O)
- Train (S1, S2, S3, S4, S7 and more)
- Bus (74A)
The CAT is fast, modern and comfortable, with plenty of space. If you’re on the right flight, you can even check-in your luggage at the station. Around 1.6 million customers use its services in a normal year.
All good so far.
However, the CAT costs more than the S7. Last time I checked, you paid €11 for a standard single adult ticket (when bought online) and the train only leaves from (and arrives at) Wien Mitte.
The timetable begins in the early morning and trains typically depart every 30 mins until very late evening. For current timetables, prices, online tickets etc., check the website.
S7 and other trains
This is the city train that stops at various points in Vienna and goes out to the airport and beyond and back again.
As noted earlier, Vienna to the airport lies outside the city zone, so you need to buy/validate an extra ticket if you already have a travel card or similar for Vienna itself. See here for details on public transport tickets.
The S7 takes longer than the CAT with stops en route (around 23 minutes from Wien Mitte, for example). It also runs every 30 minutes or so.
In my experience, the S7 trains are somewhat less user-friendly than the CAT, particularly in terms of space for luggage. But the service is cheap (at the time of writing, €4.30 for a single ticket; €1.90 if you already have a travel pass for the city). Another possible plus is you can leave from any of these Vienna city stations:
Floridsdorf, Handelskai, Traisengasse, Praterstern, Wien Mitte, Rennweg, St. Marx, Geiselbergstraße, Zentralfriedhof and Kaiserebersdorf
There are some fast regional and intercity trains that go from Wien Mitte and Vienna’s main train station (Wien Hauptbahnhof) to the airport. You’ll find timetables and online tickets (also for the S7) here.
Option 3: By bus
As with trains, various bus services go to the airport.
In normal circumstances, for example, Vienna Airport Lines operates three services with pickup points throughout the city:
- VAL1: Westbahnhof railway station to VIE via Hauptbahnhof railway station
- VAL2: Morzinplatz/Schwedenplatz to VIE direct
- VAL3: Donauzentrum to VIE via:
- Kagraner Brücke
- Hotel NH Danube City
- VIC/Kaisermühlen
- Krieau (Messe Wien)
- Stadion
- Donaumarina
Journey times vary but can be as little as 20 minutes. Look for up-to-date prices, timetables etc. at the VAL website.
Option 4: By plane
Yeah, right.