Linz Airport

Linz is one of those airports that are easy to overlook on the departures board. A few scheduled flights a day, leisure airliners in summer, long pauses in between. But if you look more closely, you discover one of the most interesting small airfields in the German-speaking world: freighters from DHL and Turkish Cargo land here, Hercules transports of the Austrian Armed Forces take off from the south side of the runway, and the terminal has a free rooftop terrace. The former Blue Danube Airport is not a place for crowds – but one for variety.

From air base to Linz Airport

Aviation in Linz is older than the present site. As early as the mid-1920s there were flights between Linz and Vienna, at that time still from airfields in the city. The move to Hörsching southwest of Linz is closely tied to the Nazi era: in 1938 the Luftwaffe began building an air base there, initially planned as a bomber flight school. Civilian traffic soon moved to Hörsching as well, because industrial facilities were being built at the old site in Linz-Katzenau.

After the war the US troops first used the grounds. Linz was officially opened as a civilian airport in 1955, and regular passenger service began in 1956. In the same year the airport played a special role: after the Hungarian uprising, according to reference works, thousands of refugees were flown from here to third countries. Since 1966 a daily route has connected Linz with Frankfurt – still the airport’s most important route today.

In 1976 a dedicated passenger terminal opened on the north side of the grounds, separate from the military part in the south. It was expanded between 1998 and 2003 and most recently modernized through 2021. As part of this renewal, the airport also dropped its secondary name in 2019: the “Blue Danube Airport,” an allusion to the nearby Danube, became simply Linz Airport. You will still often find the old name in older photo databases and travel reports.

The airport is operated by Flughafen Linz GmbH, which is owned half by the state of Upper Austria and half by the city of Linz. In passenger traffic, Linz is the fifth-largest of Austria’s six commercial airports, behind Vienna Airport, Salzburg, Innsbruck and Graz. The peak figures of the late 2000s with about 800,000 passengers are long gone. After the collapse in the pandemic, though, things picked up again: in 2025 the airport counted 262,347 passengers, an increase of about 45 percent over the previous year.

One runway for civilian and military

Linz has exactly one runway: the 08/26, 3,000 meters long and unusually wide at 60 meters. Until November 2010 it was called 09/27. Because the magnetic variation shifts over the decades, the designation no longer matched the actual alignment and was changed. The runway is equipped with instrument landing systems, one of them for Category IIIb approaches – important in the Danube region, where fog in fall and winter is not uncommon.

The special feature: the civilian airport and the Austrian Armed Forces share this one runway. On the south side lies Vogler air base, according to reference works the second-largest barracks in Austria. The military and civilian areas were separated in 1964, and both have existed side by side since. For you that means: on the same afternoon a Ryanair jet can land, a DHL freighter can taxi and a Hercules can fly its traffic patterns.

Which direction is currently in use depends on the wind, as everywhere. The background is explained in the article Understanding the runway direction in use at an airport, and how to place air traffic control in Austria you can read at Austro Control and Skyguide.

Cargo: the hidden focus

Anyone who judges Linz only by passenger numbers misses the most important thing. Since the late 1970s the airport has been the second-largest cargo airport in Austria after Vienna. That has to do with its location: Upper Austria is one of the strongest industrial regions in the country, and many companies ship time-critical goods by air cargo.

In 2025 the airport handled 47,865 tons of cargo. Of that, a good 15,200 tons were actually moved in aircraft, and about 32,650 tons ran as truck replacement service: the shipments are processed in Linz and then brought by truck to big hubs, where they move into freighters or the lower deck of passenger jets. This “trucking” cargo carries a flight number without ever taking off from Linz.

For spotters the flown cargo is what is exciting. DHL plays an important role: according to reference works, cargo flights connect Linz with the DHL hub at Leipzig/Halle Airport, partly with a stopover at Ljubljana. Behind it stands the network of DHL Aviation with companies such as European Air Transport Leipzig; in 2019 DHL also opened its own logistics center in Linz. How the big parcel services work is explained in the article on the express integrators DHL, FedEx and UPS.

The highlight for many spotters is the widebody freighter from Istanbul. Turkish Airlines, or rather its cargo brand Turkish Cargo, flies to Linz from Istanbul according to reference works. Turkish Cargo uses widebody freighters like the Airbus A330-200F and the Boeing 777F; which type comes to Linz depends on the rotation. A widebody freighter at a regional airport of this size is a sight you don’t get everywhere. According to English-language reference works, Amazon Air also turns up with connections to Madrid – such cargo rotations change quickly, though, so check the current status before your visit.

Unusual guests are also a tradition in Linz. Since the 1990s charter cargo flights with the Antonov An-124 have come again and again, and in 2003 the An-225 landed here – its first visit to Austria. In October 2021 the giant, now destroyed, came once more with medical supplies. The Concorde also visited Linz several times until 1989. How to recognize freighters in everyday traffic you can read in the article Recognizing freighters.

Passenger traffic: Frankfurt, Ryanair and sun

In scheduled traffic, almost everything in Linz revolves around one route: Frankfurt. For decades the Lufthansa Group flew it, most recently with Embraer jets of Air Dolomiti. At the end of March 2024 Lufthansa withdrew. From October 2024 Austrian Airlines took over the connection with an ATR 72-600 operated by Braathens Regional on behalf of Austrian. This arrangement ended in October 2025.

Since March 29, 2026, the Danish DAT has flown between Linz and Frankfurt Airport, also with an ATR 72. At the end of April 2026, DAT and the Lufthansa Group concluded a codeshare agreement, so connecting itineraries via Frankfurt can be booked through again. The airport advertises 17 Frankfurt flights per week.

Add Ryanair. The Irish low-cost airline launched new routes to London Stansted, Alicante and Bari in 2025 and thereby triggered a large part of the passenger growth. According to the airport, Ryanair flies each of these destinations twice a week, as everywhere with Ryanair using jets of the Boeing 737 family such as the 737-800. For winter 2026/27 a look at the current schedule is worthwhile, because Ryanair frequently adjusts its route network seasonally.

In summer leisure flights shape the picture. According to reference works, Corendon Airlines flies to Antalya, Heraklion and Hurghada, among others, and Eurowings seasonally to Palma and Kos. For summer 2027 the airport has also announced flights by the Egyptian Nesma Airlines to Hurghada. A detail on the side: there has been no direct connection to Vienna since 2015 – the train has taken over the route.

Vogler air base: the Armed Forces next door

South of the runway lies Vogler air base. It has borne its name since 1967 in honor of First Lieutenant Walter Vogler, who in 1935 steered a burning bomber over Wels until two crew members could bail out, and died in the process. Today the Upper Austria Military Command and the Air Support Command (Kommando Luftunterstützung) are stationed here, formerly known as Air Regiment 3.

The Air Support Command includes two helicopter squadrons with the Agusta Bell AB 212 and the air transport squadron with the C-130 Hercules. The Hercules came to Hörsching from 2003. As their successor, Austria has ordered the Embraer C-390 Millennium. Until the end of 2020 the Saab 105 OE also flew from here as a jet trainer; for its successor, the Armed Forces decided at the end of 2024 on the Leonardo M-346, whose delivery is planned from 2027 according to reference works.

Spotting in Linz: terrace and spotter holes

For spotters Linz has two official offerings. The first is the rooftop terrace on the terminal. According to the airport, it is open free of charge daily from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. in summer, and there is a children’s playground. In winter it can be closed for safety reasons. From above you overlook the apron with the parked passenger jets and the runway behind it.

Because the terminal lies north of the runway, you look roughly south from the terrace. By day the sun is therefore more in front of you; you get the best conditions in the early morning and in the evening, when the light comes from the side. How to plan this concretely is shown in the article on sun position at the photo spot.

The second offering is the spotter holes: openings in the fence around the grounds through which you photograph takeoffs and landings without wire mesh in the picture. According to reference works there are about 20 such spots; the airport speaks of several photographer-friendly stations with different angles. A concrete site plan is not published on the website – best ask at the information desk or explore the surroundings by bike. You’ll find tips on technique at Photographing through the fence.

How to find cargo flights and rare visitors online is explained in the article on flight tracking with ADS-B. For Austrian registrations the article on OE registrations is worthwhile. And if you have drone footage in the back of your mind: in the control zone of an airport with military operations that is off limits without a permit – the rules are in the article Flying a drone in Austria.

Tours and visitor offerings

If you want to go behind the scenes, book an airport tour. According to the airport, Austria Guides organizes it year-round by arrangement: about an hour and a half with the airport’s history, a view of the apron, check-in and security screening as well as a visit to the fire station and hangar. A drive across the runway is optionally possible. The price depends on the program and group size; school classes get their own dates in the summer months. You’ll find general tips on such offerings in the article Airport tours and apron bus tours.

A special feature is the Airport Night Run: since 2015, once a year, runners run across the runway at night – in 2019, according to reference works, about 2,500, today under the name DHL Airport Night Run. For spotters it is not a photo opportunity for aircraft, but a rare chance to experience the runway up close.

Getting to Hörsching

The rail connection in Linz is not yet direct. From Linz main station you take the train to Hörsching and change there to a shuttle bus to the terminal; according to reference works, that takes about a quarter of an hour in total. Alternatively bus line 601 runs from downtown Linz to the airport in about 20 minutes. As part of the four-track expansion of the Westbahn, a station directly in front of the terminal is planned – according to reference works at the earliest in the early 2030s.

By car you reach the airport via the autobahns in the Linz/Wels area. At the terminal there are short- and long-term parking lots that are accessible around the clock. For the spotter holes at the fence a bicycle is practical because they are spread across the surroundings.

Linz compared

Among Austria’s regional airports, Linz is the cargo specialist. Salzburg Airport has significantly more passengers and strong ski charter traffic in winter, plus the observation deck in Salzburg and Hangar-7. Innsbruck Airport scores with spectacular approaches between the mountains. Linz, in turn, can offer something with DHL, Turkish Cargo and the Austrian Armed Forces that the others don’t have in that way.

In the wider region, Vienna Airport with the spotters’ hill is the obvious complement if you want to combine volume and rarities on a weekend. And if you want to see the DHL freighters from Linz at their destination, the observation deck at Leipzig/Halle is the matching counterpart. The article Spotting at small regional airports collects general tips for small places.

Conclusion

Linz Airport is not a destination for spotters who expect 40 movements in an hour. It is a place for people who like the unusual: a DHL freighter, a Turkish widebody freighter on a regional runway, an Austrian Armed Forces Hercules in the traffic pattern. Add a free rooftop terrace, official spotter holes and a relaxed atmosphere in which nobody pushes.

The key to a good day in Linz is planning. If you know when Frankfurt, Ryanair, leisure airliners and freighters come, and factor in the light on the south side, you get pictures here that would be lost at bigger airports.