VIE is set to fire the starting gun on bids for 10,000sq m of retail and F&B space at the Terminal 3 Southern Expansion. Source: VIE investor report.

Vienna Airport (VIE) will release an expression of interest (EOI) with a view to inviting bids for speciality retail tenancies at the new Southern Expansion of Terminal 3, TRBusiness can report.

VIE will distribute details of the EOI via letter to interested parties from next week, this publication understands.

The airport has been gauging market interest this year with a view to selecting partners for retail and dining units across 10,000sq m of retail and F&B space.

Subject to the signing of non-disclosure agreements, prospective bidders will then be provided with documentation to prepare their submissions.

The bid deadline is expected to be set for the end of February 2025.

At the same time, VIE will begin soliciting interest for F&B lots, though the bid deadline for this segment has yet to be decided.

Speaking to TRBusiness, Philipp Ahrens, Senior Vice President Center Management at VIE says the airport will adopt a flexible approach when it comes to allocating the 10,000sq m footprint rather than defining a specific number of units.

Kickstarting the bid process

Construction of Vienna Airport’s €420 million Terminal 3 Southern Expansion project began earlier this year. It is scheduled to be operational by the second quarter of 2027.

The project, which will cover approximately 70,000sq m in total, is set to house more than 30 new shopping and restaurant outlets within a fresh commercial offering, enlarging the airport’s total shopping and retail space by 50% to around 30,000sq m.

The airport has forecast that the new extension will accommodate 13.5m departing travellers, accounting for more than 80% of the airport’s non-Schengen traffic and approximately 70% of overall traffic.

Philipp Ahrens, Senior Vice President Center Management at Vienna Airport.

New centralised security, gate and lounge areas will also feature.

“The [extension opening] is on track and now is the time to kick-off the bidding process for the retail and F&B spaces,” Ahrens told TRBusiness.

“By next year in the Summer or Autumn we want to have a clear picture of our tenant structure in the building and we need the time for the negotiations of the contracts and interior fitting planning, so that is in 2025 and in 2026 we need to do the interior fittings. Time will fly quickly.

The new extension is tipped to handle 13.5m departing passengers. Source: VIE.

“TFWA WE is the perfect event to talk to the brands. That is why we’ve decided to trigger this now and put some time pressure on us to have a clear view of what we can do in the south extension, dreaming together with our possible partners and to have a terminal with five-star status.

“The expectation on the tenant side is they will have high-quality fittings and plan for a remarkable experience for our travellers.”

Ahrens, who joined VIE a little under four years ago from Munich Airport, says the completion of the Southern Expansion of T3 will represent “a huge elevation” of the commercial offering.

“If you look at Vienna Airport, it’s very limited when it comes to the retail and F&B offerings simply due to infrastructure,” he commented.

“We picked up extremely well after the pandemic and in the last three years we’ve changed more than 50% of our units with new brands and refurbishments.

“For the second consecutive year, that has now really materialised into revenues. With the extension, it will give us a completely new dimension and opportunities on how we can develop the experience and revenue for our stockholders.”

As is tradition, VIE hosted its networking dinner for partners on Monday 30 September during TFWA Cannes. Vice President Center Management Philipp Ahrens welcomed guests in convivial fashion while offering a few words on the ambition informing the Southern Expansion project.

Maximising potential

VIE handled 29.5 million passengers in 2023 – reaching 93.3% of pre-pandemic levels (31.7m in 2019) and representing a 24.7% increase year-on-year.

The airport is expected to handle around 31.5m passengers this year.

While Ahrens states that the airport is charting a strong course of development, he acknowledges that spend per pax has dipped.

This, he says, is linked to higher traffic volumes relative to fewer commercial offerings in the terminal.

“We are losing out on the potential,” he continued. “With the extension project with 10,000sq m of retail and F&B, we can offer a completely new experience that will hopefully dramatically increase our revenues.”

Members of VIE’s management team, including joint CEO Julian Jäger and Philipp Ahrens attended this week’s TFWA World Exhibition & Conference where the airport hosted its traditional dinner for partners on the evening of 30 September.

“We are having a very strong year, maybe even stronger than 2019, so recovery has been great,” added Ahrens. “From a tourism perspective the city of Vienna has had a record summer this year, with strong growth in the Middle East.”

The airport posted a 12.9% rise in income from its Center Management and Hospitality areas in its half-year results, outstripping the 7.9% increase in passenger traffic (14.4m).

VIE will issue its September traffic results on 15 October.

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