UPDATE: Looks like the Austrian flights to Chicago and Washington/Dulles have been cancelled. The JFK flight did leave a little more than an hour late. Austrian is currently trying to rebook passengers on other Star Alliance flights. Based on the flight loads and the time of day they started this rebooking process, there will be many US Bound passengers staying an extra night (or two) in Europe. There are so many worse things that could happen on your trip though. If you are stuck in Vienna another night, go back into the City. Grab a coffee and some cake and listen to some of the amazing street musicians.

Original Post:

Those of you who follow me on social media (Instagram, Twitter, Vero) know that I was in Vienna this past weekend. Evidently the Austrian Airlines is having some employment and service issues today. Dozens of flights have been cancelled throughout Europe. It appears that their long haul flights are just delayed.

The flight back to Chicago was delayed two hours and was supposed to (but didn’t) leave at 12h10 (vs. 10h10) – and that announcement was made last night. People are at the airport now and the information presented is that the “Worker’s Council” is meeting and more information will be available in an hours time.

I’d much rather be sitting here drinking champagne than be queued up waiting for a delayed plane because of a possible employee strike.

The website outlining the Flight Status has been just stair stepping the delay. I’m not sure what the underlying issues are with the flight crews, but it is quite a frustrating situation for passengers though.

We’ll have to see if the delay is long enough to trigger a EU Regulation 261/2004 claim – where passengers could be eligible for up to €600 in compensation for a delayed flight.

You can keep up to date on these issues on Austrian’s website, and check flight status here.

Are you stuck in Vienna or an outstation trying to get on an Austrian flight?