In just one month, the Airpower 2022, Europe’s largest airshowwill take off from Zeltweg Air Base. Acceptance of the event and the Hinterstoisser airbase among the Austrian population is high, as a recent survey shows.
Airpower will consist of a performance show on the ground, demonstrations by the Austrian Air Force and international military aerobatic teams and participants from the civil aviation sector, above all the Flying Bulls, as well as a static display by civilian exhibitors from the aviation industry, research and education and an extensive supporting event at the airfield, including the Military Aviation Museum. “This year’s Airpower offers an unprecedented program with numerous highlights and premieres. A total of around 35 flying displays with an eight-hour program will be on show. Around 60 aircraft will be presented in the static display,” explains Defense Minister Klaudia Tanner. “We also want to show what we can do at Airpower. After all, this event has a training value for our armed forces and is also an exercise that shows how professional our air forces are and that they are able to help and support,” adds the Minister. Preparations are going according to plan, with set-up work beginning as early as August 16. The Austrian participants will start their preparations in Zeltweg during the week of August 22nd, while the international participants will fly in during the week beginning August 29th. Until August 22, the training flights in Zeltweg will be limited to around one training flight per day and these training flights will also be distributed to other locations throughout Austria. “It is important for us to emphasize this: All training flights of the surveillance squadron at Hinterstoisser Air Base in Zeltweg as well as all training flights for Airpower will take place within the flight hour quota planned for 2022. No additional flight hours will be used for this in 2022,” says Brigadier Wolfgang Prieler, Airpower project manager. Region impressively supports the Zeltweg site
In a representative survey (n = 1,000) and its own representative survey in the region (n = 258) in mid-June 2022, the Institute for Public Opinion Research and Data Analysis (IFDD) surveyed the attitude of the population towards the Hinterstoisser airbase in Zeltweg. “The result was unambiguous and clear: when asked how important the Hinterstoisser air base is for the Murtal region overall, an impressive 85% of respondents across Austria rated it as very important or somewhat important, and in the region the figure was as high as 91%. A clear ¾ majority, specifically 79 percent of those surveyed – both across Austria and in the region – thought that Airpower was very important or somewhat important for the Murtal region, its economy and tourism. These results are a good and impressive proof of the anchoring of the Zeltweg location in the region and also for the clear majority approval of Airpower as a driving force for the region”, explained Christoph Haselmayer, Managing Director of the IFDD.
