FPÖ withholds support for Salzburg Airport chief appointment

Austria’s Freedom Party (FPÖ) will not yet approve the appointment of Johannes Hörl as managing director of Salzburg Airport, ORF reported. Deputy Governor Marlene Svazek said questions about the selection process must be clarified before a decision.

Svazek said the composition of the hearing panel and reported personal connections among its members raised concerns. She called for access to documents relevant to the decision.

Hörl, who has long led the Großglockner High Alpine Roads AG, emerged as the top candidate after a multi-stage selection process that ended with a hearing. He was chosen over the airport’s current managing director, Bettina Ganghofer, and is due to take over Salzburg Airport W. A. Mozart, Austria’s largest regional airport, in October 2027.

Media reports said four of the five hearing panel members had links to the Austrian People’s Party (ÖVP). Svazek said she had not known about those connections. She said politicians who support and sign off on a personnel decision must be satisfied that it was reached properly.