Vienna International Airport: A Complete Guide to Terminals, City Transport and Departures

Vienna International Airport (airport code VIE) sits about 18 km from the city centre and is Austria's largest international hub — and one of the most important transfer points between central and eastern Europe. The airport is only 16–25 minutes from town, but the express train, the S-Bahn, the buses and taxis all trade speed against price, and the check-in halls and security entrances are split by terminal and destination. Knowing which building and which entrance are yours saves real time.

This guide covers terminals and gate areas, transport into the city, the departure process and airport facilities in four parts.

1. Terminals and gate areas

Vienna Airport has three terminals in use — Terminal 1, Terminal 1A and Terminal 3 — lined up under one roof, so you can walk between them. The SKYLINK extension of Terminal 3 opened in 2012 and can take aircraft as large as the Airbus A380; it is the main building for long-haul flights.

The airport is run by Flughafen Wien AG, with passenger services, baggage handling and ground handling shared between Vienna Airport, Swissport, Austrian Airlines and others. Check-in desks are allocated by airline, so confirm which terminal your flight uses — currently Terminal 1, Terminal 1A or Terminal 3. Older airport material still uses the name "Terminal 2" for a location, but it no longer handles check-in.

Five gate areas: B, C, D, F and G

Gates are grouped into five piers, and the group decides which security entrance you use and whether you pass through passport control. Pier D was formerly called Hall A and is known as the east pier; pier C is the west pier.

Airbridge gates walk straight onto the aircraft; gates marked as bus gates mean a trip downstairs and a shuttle ride, which belongs in your boarding time. C71–C75 is a separate bus-gate group reached through gate C31, so allow extra walking and waiting time if you are departing from there.

International transfers: change planes without entering Austria

If Vienna is only a stopover, international transfers do not require entering Austria. Arriving at pier C on an international flight, follow the signs down to the Transitzone on the ground floor and take the shuttle bus to pier D for your onward international flight. Arriving at pier D and continuing on another international flight, you make the same transfer inside pier D using the Transitzone and the shuttle bus. At pier D the transit area and the passport control area sit at the entrances to the halls and at the airbridge and bus gates — follow the "Transfer" signs.

2. Getting into the city and back

There are five ways into Vienna from the airport: the City Airport Train is quickest, the airport buses cover the city centre and the western station, the S7 S-Bahn and Railjet trains give the best value, taxis suit late arrivals and heavy bags, and car hire suits a road trip that starts in Vienna. The routes, times and fares below are as published by the airport and the operators; check the operators' sites on the day you travel.

1. City Airport Train (CAT) — fastest

The City Airport Train runs non-stop from the airport to Wien Mitte (Landstraße) in the city centre in 16 minutes, which makes it the least stressful way in — road traffic simply is not a factor.

• Hours: 05:37–23:29 (city centre → airport); 06:09–23:39 (airport → city centre), roughly every 30 minutes.
• Stops: airport ↔ Wien Mitte, about a 10-minute walk from St. Stephen's Cathedral.
• Fare: €14.90 one way, with cheaper return tickets. Vienna's city transport tickets and the Vienna City Card are not valid on the CAT; you need a separate ticket.
• Tickets: the arrivals hall has a dedicated CAT counter where you can buy tickets and ask about any CAT service.
• City check-in for baggage: at the CAT terminal in the city centre you can check in and collect a boarding pass, at staffed desks or self-service kiosks, from 24 hours until 75 minutes before departure.

2. Airport buses — widest coverage

The airport buses (Vienna Airport Lines / Postbus) link the airport to Vienna's main transport hubs, and the three city routes between them cover every metro line. Services towards Wien Westbahnhof and Wien Hauptbahnhof run every 30 minutes; the airport ↔ Morzinplatz/Schwedenplatz route runs around the clock and takes just 20 minutes.

• Fare: about €8 one way, bought on board or at the counter.
• Routes and stops: see the table below.

3. Long-distance coaches — onwards to neighbouring capitals

For Bratislava, Budapest, Prague or Brno, the coaches from the airport are often more direct than the train, and many of them start at the airport — handy if Vienna is a stopover on the way somewhere else.

4. S-Bahn and ÖBB trains — best value

To travel at the price of a city ticket, the S7 S-Bahn is the answer: about 25 minutes from the airport to Wien Mitte, at roughly a third of the CAT fare, and the ticket then covers the metro and trams in the city.

ÖBB's Railjet trains connect the airport to places much further out: direct to Wien Hauptbahnhof (15 minutes), St. Pölten, Linz, Salzburg, Innsbruck, Graz and Klagenfurt, with cross-border services to Brno, Praha, Győr and Budapest. At Wien Hauptbahnhof (Vienna Central Station) you can change for many more destinations.

• Fare: about €5 one way on the S7 (the VOR transport association prices by zone, and the airport lies outside Vienna's core zone — if you already hold a city ticket, you only pay the airport-section supplement).
• Tickets: the ÖBB counter is in the airport arrivals hall, a short walk away, and tickets are also sold at ÖBB machines and in the ÖBB app.
• Timetable: see the table below; ÖBB's and VOR's own announcements for the day are definitive.

Services marked * and ** usually require a change of trains at Wien Hauptbahnhof; check ÖBB's timetable for the day.

5. Taxis

Take a taxi from the rank outside the arrivals hall, or use a vehicle dispatched by the "City Transfer" desk; you can also book one by phone in advance.

6. Car hire

The rental desks are together on level 0 of multi-storey car park P4, where Hertz, Sixt, Europcar, Avis, Budget, Enterprise, Alamo and National all have counters — you drive straight out onto the motorway network.

3. Departure: check-in, bag drop, security

The standard sequence is check in → drop your bags → security → (non-Schengen flights) passport control → board. Arrive 2 hours before a Schengen departure and 3 hours before a non-Schengen or long-haul flight; add half an hour in peak season and around public holidays.

1. Check-in

• Self-service check-in: use a credit card or a Miles & More card, your name, your booking reference, or simply scan your passport to get a boarding pass from the self-service machines. If you have bags to check, the machine tells you which bag-drop counter to use.
• At the counter: depending on your flight, check in and collect your boarding pass at Terminal 1, Terminal 1A or Terminal 3.
• Online check-in: most airlines offer it on their website or app, which saves queueing at the airport; print your boarding pass there. If you are travelling with bags to check, ask at the relevant counter first.
• Check-in at Wien Mitte: some airlines offer check-in at the City Airport Train terminal at Wien Mitte, where you show your passport and receive your boarding pass. For the current list of airlines, see cityairporttrain.com or call +43 1 25250.

2. Self bag drop

Vienna Airport's self bag drop compresses the handover into four steps: scan your boarding pass → attach the tag to your bag → keep your claim tag → go on to security.

At the self-service belts beside the check-in islands, scan your boarding pass to confirm the flight, fix the printed tag to your suitcase handle, put the bag on the belt, and keep the claim tag — if the bag goes astray, it is the only record you have.

3. Baggage notes

• For overweight baggage or pets, use the oversized baggage counters at Terminal 1 or Terminal 3.
• Put your name and address on the bag and remove old tags — old barcodes confuse the sorting system and make a misrouted bag more likely.
• Carry valuables, important documents and medication with you rather than checking them.
• Secure the bag with a strap or padlock if needed, or use the airport's baggage wrapping service (see the facilities section below).

4. Security and passport control

Security entrances are split by gate group, and the wrong one costs you a long walk:

• Security entrance 2: for departures from gates B, C and D.
• Security entrance 3: for departures from gates F and G.

Past security there are shops and restaurants in the departure area; friends and family seeing you off cannot pass through with you.

• For Schengen countries, use gates B, C and F.
• For non-Schengen countries, use gates D and G, and you must pass through passport control before continuing to the gate.

4. Airport facilities and practical information

Enquiries and baggage services

There are three information desks: two on the departures levels of Terminals 1 and 3, and one in the Terminal 3 arrivals hall. Baggage and facility questions can all be answered here.

The baggage service centres in the check-in areas of Terminals 1 and 3 are open 00:00–24:00 and offer:

Medical centre, prayer room and lost property

• Medical centre: Terminal 1, level 1 corridor, opposite the pharmacy, open 07:00–19:00. Vaccinations include yellow fever, typhoid, rabies, hepatitis A and B (also for children), malaria, tick-borne encephalitis, influenza, the combined diphtheria/polio/tetanus/pertussis vaccine, meningococcal disease and Japanese encephalitis — call ahead to check stock.
• Prayer room: there is a prayer room in the terminal; ask at an information desk for its location.
• Lost property: the lost property office on level 0 of Terminal 1, or the information desk in the Terminal 3 arrivals hall.
• Returning lost items by post: use the delivery and packing service of Mail Boxes Etc. in A-2320 Schwechat, or any courier you prefer; the contact address is [email protected]. Items held longer than 8 days incur a storage charge, and payment must clear before the item is sent: for card payments the invoice and payment link arrive by email; for bank transfers, put the invoice number in the payment reference field, otherwise your payment cannot be identified.

Customs and duty-free allowances

Travellers entering Austria from outside the EU may bring in the following within the duty-free allowances. Travellers on the same trip cannot pool their allowances — a rule that is often missed:

• Age limits: passengers under 15 have an allowance of €150; the alcohol and tobacco allowances apply from age 17.
• Cash declarations: carrying more than €10,000 in cash or other means of payment (travellers' cheques, gold bars, gold coins and the like) into or out of the EU must be declared to customs; forms are available at the customs counter or a customs office.
• Export refund stamps: the customs office for exports is on arrivals level 0.

Currency exchange and ATMs

The airport's currency exchange desks are run by Interchange, with branches at the gates, in the arrivals hall and in the terminals, generally open from 5 a.m. into the late evening; ATMs are spread even more widely, from the arrivals hall to the gate piers.

The desks offer currency exchange, tax refunds and international transfers; some desks in the arrivals hall and Terminals 2 and 3 also sell phone cards.

ATMs are at the arrivals hall, gates C/D/F/G, the Plaza, car park 8, Terminals 1, 2 and 3 public areas, Office Park 1, Office Park 3 and the VIP/GAC area. The ATMs in the arrivals hall, car parks, terminals and office buildings are open to everyone; those at the gates and the Plaza are for passengers only.

Wi-Fi, power and SIM cards

• Wi-Fi: covers the whole terminal, so you can check flights and message home while you wait.
• Power and work: gates F and G have dedicated work spaces where you can plug in and use a laptop.
• SIM cards and repairs: Mr. Mobile offers phone, tablet and laptop repairs, loan handsets and prepaid SIM cards.

Related links

• On this site: Vienna International Airport (VIE), Austria (AT)
• Wikipedia: Vienna International Airport
• Baidu Baike: Vienna International Airport

Image source: Vienna Airport. Fares, opening hours and counter locations are as published by the airport and the operators; check their websites on the day you travel.