Early years

In 1905, Georg Count of Khevenhüller from Hochosterwitz Castle and in 1907 Dipl.-Ing. Joseph Sablatnig (Joseph Sablatnig was owner of the Fokker-Sablatnig, Deutsche Flugzeuge, Deutsche Motoren, Flugzeug Gesellschaft mbH, Berlin) were the first men in the sky over Carinthia and Klagenfurt.^{[citation needed]}

In World War I and II, the airport of Klagenfurt was operated as a military airfield, and indeed Klagenfurt Airport was founded in 1914 as a military airport. The civil opening of Klagenfurt Airport on 17 May 1925, was an event for the City of Klagenfurt as well as for Carinthia. In June 1929, the pilot hero of World War I, Julius Fedrigoni Edler von Etschthal, has the function of flight director of the airport until 1939. After the end of World War II, Julius Fedrigoni was returned to Annabichl, he worked with low-budget flight operations. On 1 January 1952, Korv. Kpt. Julius Fedrigoni founded the Committee city of Klagenfurt and he was flight director until 1956.^{[citation needed]}

From 1926 to 1938, seven airlines operated from Klagenfurt Airport. Countries like Germany, Italy, Yugoslavia and of course domestic flights to all major cities in Austria were connected with Klagenfurt.^{[citation needed]}

Reduction of operations

In the spring of 2014, the airport's home carrier, Austrian Airlines, announced the closure of their ticketing and service counters at Klagenfurt Airport due to decreasing demand. Services were instead to be provided directly at the check-in counters.^[4] In April 2015, Austrian Airlines also announced that a closure of their domestic route to Vienna was under consideration within the next few years based on economic reasons.^[5] In the same year, the state government announced plans to partly sell its stakes in the airport to private investors.^[6]

As the airport suffered from a major decrease of passenger numbers in recent years, it was suggested by the management to establish major logistics and cargo operators here, which might be supported by the freight shipment operations handled at the relatively closely located harbours of the Adriatic Sea. The airport already features road and rail connections.^[7] However, Austrian Airlines stated later that the airport would not work for cargo operations due to noise complaints and the night curfew.^[5]

In October 2015, the Austrian Air Force announced it would end all operations and close its helicopter base at Klagenfurt Airport by the end of 2015.^[8]

Developments since 2020

In August 2020, Ryanair announced plans to leave the airport and terminate their route to Palma de Mallorca Airport, which had been operated as a wetlease by Lauda.^[9] However, Ryanair returned with four destinations in 2023.^[10]

In 2022, the airport's then majority owner, Lilihill Group, announced the creation of a new regional airline based in Klagenfurt, Liliair. With a proposed launch in April 2023, the carrier was supposed to expand the airport's connection with major European destinations. However the announced flights were not open for booking for any date on or before the day of the launch and no operating carrier had been confirmed.^[11] Previously there was ongoing controversy between Lilihill and the state of Carinthia, which proposed to buy back the airport, leaving the Liliair project in doubt.^[12][13] In April 2023, Lilihill Group announced that a Liliair home base in Klagenfurt has become unlikely due to the ongoing dispute.^[14] In May 2023, the city of Klagenfurt and the state of Carinthia announced to execute a buy-back option and re-acquired the majority ownership of the airport after longstanding debate.^[15]

Train

The train station "Klagenfurt-Annabichl" is a 5–10 minutes (750 meters) walk from the terminal and offers suburban rail services every half-hour to St.Veit (and beyond), to Klagenfurt main station, to the villages along Lake Wörthersee, and to Villach (and beyond).

Road

The airport has its own exit named Klagenfurt Flughafen on the nearby motorway A2, which leads to Vienna and Italy. A regular suburban bus service connects the airport with the city centre including the Klagenfurt central station. There is also a coach connection between Klagenfurt Airport and Ljubljana Jože Pučnik Airport, which is served several times a day.