Terminal 1A

Ryanair and Wizz Air push out of Vienna’s Terminal 1A

Terminal 1A at Vienna International Airport sits just off Terminal 1 and handles mainly low-cost carriers, with Ryanair and Wizz Air as the headline tenants. This is the budget annex of VIE: basic building, fewer frills, and usually lower fares than the airlines in Terminal 3. Departures boards here mostly show point-to-point flights around Europe rather than long-haul connections.

Physically, 1A is a small satellite near the Terminal 1 area, reachable in a few minutes on foot from the main check-in hall for Terminals 1 and 3. Check your boarding pass carefully: if it lists Ryanair or Wizz Air and says “1A,” do not follow signs to 3, or you’ll add 10–15 minutes of backtracking. All access is post-Schengen border for departures out of Austria, and you stay landside with the rest of the airport until you turn into the clearly marked 1A corridor.

Check-in desks for 1A flights sit in the shared Vienna landside area, so you may see counters labeled for multiple airlines next to each other, including non-1A carriers. Ryanair and Wizz Air both lean heavily on online check-in and mobile boarding passes, which can cut your counter time from 20–30 minutes to just a quick bag drop. Self-service kiosks are not always available for every route, so check the app before you leave for the airport.

Security for Terminal 1A is usually a single screening zone feeding directly into the departure area, and lines can spike sharply in the 60–90 minutes before each bank of morning and evening flights. Build at least a 45–60 minute buffer from the airport train or CAT arrival to your gate time if you’re checking a bag. If you hit a quiet patch, you can be through in under 15 minutes, but that’s a bonus, not a plan.

Inside 1A, concessions are extremely limited: no catalogued restaurants, no published lounges, and no branded shops listed in airport maps as of 2024. That means no Priority Pass lounge, no Ryanair or Wizz Air partner lounge, and no sit-down dining pinned to specific gate numbers. Expect basic gate seating, toilets, and vending or minimal grab-and-go only; eat and stock up on water and snacks in the main terminal where chains and supermarkets post clear prices in euros.

Boarding for Ryanair and Wizz Air flights out of 1A often uses buses to remote stands, especially in busy morning and late-evening waves. You’ll usually scan boarding passes at the gate 20–30 minutes before departure, then wait in a holding area or directly on the bus for another 5–15 minutes. Priority boarding and “front seat” fares mainly affect when you get on the aircraft stairs, not the timing of the bus itself.

Arrivals at Terminal 1A feed back into the main arrivals level of Vienna International Airport, using the same baggage claim carousels that handle flights from Terminals 1 and 3. Checked bags from Ryanair and Wizz Air generally appear on the screens above 1–10 minutes after you reach the belt, with peak times stretching that to 20–25 minutes. Once you exit customs, you’re in the shared landside hall with direct signage to the S7 and Railjet trains, taxis, and buses.

Final tip: plan all food, last-minute shopping, and lounge time in Terminal 1 or 3, then walk over to 1A for boarding about 45 minutes before departure for Schengen flights and 60 minutes for anything with document checks or peak summer timing.