Vienna CESEE Airport Forum covers many of the pressing topics for aviation in Central, Eastern and Southeastern Europe, that will be discussed by top aviation leaders and other decision makers of the region! This brand-new conference and exhibition will start with a Welcome Reception on Wednesday, starting at 18:00 CET on December 4^th, at Vienna Airport Conference & Innovation Center.

Thursday, December 5^th, Julian Jäger, Joint-CEO of Vienna Airport, will kick off the conference and high-level representatives of the government of Austria and the City of Vienna will welcome our esteemed guests. Olivier Jankovec, Director General of ACI EUROPE, will set the scene, and Mario Holzner, Executive Director of The Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies, will give a deeper insight into the economical and geopolitical prospects of the CESEE region in his keynote speech.

Airport CEOs will then debate the key challenges and opportunities for air travel in the region and what it means in term of regional connectivity and growth. Confirmed speakers include, Laila Odina (CEO of Riga Airport), Jiři Poš (CEO of Prague Airport) and Andrzej Ilkow (CEO of Warsaw Airport).

The second panel will highlight the role of air travel for European integration in CESEE and bring together political decision makers from both national and EU level, including the European Commission, the European Parliament, and national Governments.

As very central actors, airlines operating in the countries of CESEE will also shed light on their view of the development of air travel in the region. Keynote speeches by Jason McGuinnes of Ryanair and Silvia Mosquera of Wizzair air followed by discussions with other airlines’ CEOs.

After the lunch break, the scope of the conference is broadened by the view of investors, like Werner Kerschl of IFM, on the opportunities offered by aviation in the CESEE region as well as possible obstacles for further investment. The first conference day will be wrapped up with formidable speakers to bring the global view to the table, including Joseph Young of Delta Airlines.

On Thursday evening, participants and speakers will be invited to join the VIE Wine Fest in the City of Vienna, where a big variety of aviation leaders and professionals meet up, accompanied by classical Viennese charm and, of course, fine Austrian wine.

Friday, December 6^th, is dedicated to more specialized issues that concern all airports in the region, namely how to keep up Cybersecurity at airports as critical infrastructure (with Susanne Ebm, Head of IT at Vienna Airport) and how to develop an AirportCity (with Wolfgang Scheibenpflug, Head of Real Estate Management at Vienna Airport).

The second day of the conference will provide further opportunities for networking and visiting the exhibition. After the closing remarks by Olivier Jankovec and Julian Jäger, we offer an airport tour for all interested participants.

Finally, we offer a unique tourist programme, the Vienna Weekend Special, on Friday 6^th and Saturday 7^th, including a guided City tour and a visit of a famous Viennese Christmas Market, a visit of the Albertina Museum, and an exclusive visit of the Vienna State Opera, including a performance of Puccini’s “Tosca” on Saturday evening.

Indicative timetable (may be subject to changes):