Military Transports Through Austria
After the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, there was only a slight increase in the number of military transports through Austria. This year, there were 1,100 in total by April 11.
Small and Heavy Arms are being transported through Austria to Ukraine. / Picture: © Wikimedia Commons / OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine, CC BY 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)
Austria has debated the compatibility of neutrality and arms transport to Ukraine through Austria during the war in Ukraine. Small and Heavy Arms are being transported through Austria to Ukraine.
According to the ORF, the answer to a parliamentary question shows that there has been a slight, but no significant increase in military transports through Austria since the beginning of the war. This year, there were 1,100 military transports by April 11, compared with 3,300 for the full year in 2021. In 2019, there were 3,500 transports.
Each military transport must be applied for and approved following the standards of the Troops Residence Act 2001. The justification for the transports, which primarily used main traffic routes, was to participate in training and education projects, as well as scientific and sporting events, according to the answer to a parliamentary question by FPÖ MP Christian Hafenecker.
Entry, exit and transit flights of foreign military aircraft are also approved by the Ministry of Defense by the Aviation Act.
Justifications for the authorized overflights were given as examples "for humanitarian aid, disaster relief, medical evacuation flights (MEDEVAC), passenger transports or the transport of cargo."
According to the ORF, in 2019, 6,384 air flights were authorized, compared to 5,837 in 2021. This year, there were 1,546 authorizations by the April 5 deadline.