Vienna International Airport

Austria's foreign ministry says Iranian nationals need an airport transit visa (visa A) even to stay in the international transit area of an Austrian airport, unless they are exempt. Iran is also on the EU's common list. Under the EU Visa Code (consolidated version of 28 June 2024), you do not need it if you hold a valid Schengen visa, or a long-stay visa or residence permit from a Schengen country. A visa or residence permit from Ireland or Cyprus also counts. A valid visa for the United States, Canada or Japan counts when you travel to or from that country, or on to any other non-EU country. Certain residence permits from Andorra, Canada, Japan, San Marino, the United Kingdom and the United States count too, and family members of EU citizens are exempt. Going from a non-Schengen flight to a Schengen flight, or the other way round, means Austrian passport control, and to enter the Schengen area an Iranian passport needs a Schengen visa. Between two non-Schengen flights there is normally no passport control if you stay in the transit area. But at Vienna the free bus between the C/D and F/G gates stops on the Schengen side, before passport control. If you have no Schengen visa, do not go through passport control. Show your boarding pass to airport or airline staff and ask for the transit route to your gate. People with a short-stay visa, and visitors who need no visa, are registered in the EU Entry/Exit System (fingerprints and photo). The Austrian embassy in Tehran restarted some consular work from 1 September 2026 but does not take Schengen visa applications. Check with the embassy or your airline before you book.

Terminal 1 leads to gates B, C and D, and Terminal 3 to gates F and G. Terminal 1A is a check-in hall for some airlines. Gates B, C and F serve Schengen flights; D and G serve flights outside Schengen. The airport's prayer room page lists a room in Terminal 3, level 3, on the non-Schengen side, and its SKY Lounge leaflet shows the F gate area on level 1 of Terminal 3. On 5 November 2026 the airport's departures list showed Qatar Airways leaving from Terminal 3 (gate G36) and Turkish Airlines from Terminal 1 (gates D22 and D28), with Emirates checking in at Terminal 3. Gates change, so always check the screens. A free bus links the C/D and F/G gates, every 10 minutes from 5:30 to 23:30, about 4 minutes on board. Both of its stops are on the Schengen side, before passport control. If you have no Schengen visa, do not go through passport control. Show your boarding pass to airport or airline staff and ask for the transit route to your gate. The airport says gates are close together but gives no walking times. The screens show walking distances for slow walkers. Some gates are bus gates: a bus takes you to the plane. People who booked assistance can be driven between terminals and to the plane in special minibuses.

Tell your airline or travel agent you need help when you book, and at least 48 hours before departure. Vienna says this lets the airline pass your request on in time. Say what you need: a wheelchair, help with steps, or someone to walk with you between flights. Ask for help on every flight of your trip, and on each ticket if you have separate tickets. If you are changing planes and did not book help, do not go back to check-in. Stay where you are and ask the gate staff or the cabin crew. Without notice, the airport's target is to reach you within 45 minutes instead of 20.

If you booked help, staff meet you at the plane or the gate. The airport's target is within 20 minutes, or 45 minutes if you did not book. Mobility counters, where you can call for help yourself, are in the arrivals hall and in Terminal 3, with hearing loops and screens in sign language. They are on the public side, outside the transit area. If you are changing planes, do not go looking for them: stay where you are and ask the gate staff or the cabin crew. Special minibuses can take you from terminal to terminal or to the plane.

Assistance is free and runs around the clock. Staff use wheelchairs for long distances and, where possible, small electric carts. The airport also promises shorter waits at check-in, security and the gate for people using this service. In Terminal 1 and Terminal 3 there is a wide separate entrance to security for people needing help and for families. There are 46 accessible washrooms. The airport gives out Sunflower products for hidden disabilities at its three Airport Service counters, 5:30 to 22:15. These counters are on the public side, so a connecting passenger cannot reach them without passing passport control. Sunflower products do not give you priority, but staff will know you may need more time. A personal attendant (Premium Services) can be booked in the airport's online shop.

Airport Service counters: one on the departures level of Terminal 1, one on the departures level of Terminal 3, and one in the arrivals hall. They are on the public side, outside the transit area. The airport says its staff also walk around the terminal and gate areas to help, so if you are changing planes, ask them or the gate staff. Email: services@viennaairport.com. The Contact Center and flight information line is +43 1 7007 0, from 6:00 to 22:00. The airport says its medical team and emergency doctor are available around the clock (+43 1 7007 22245). There is a pharmacy in Terminal 1, level 1, but it is also on the public side, so a connecting passenger should ask the gate staff for help instead. We found no official statement that staff speak Persian or Arabic, so keep a written note of your next flight and gate to show staff.

Prayer rooms are open to people of all faiths. For passengers with a boarding pass there is one in Terminal 3, level 3, on the non-Schengen side, and one in the Plaza. A third room, in Terminal 3, level 2, is in the public area and open to everyone 24 hours, but a connecting passenger cannot reach it without entering Austria. Paid lounges for passengers of any airline: the SKY Lounge in Terminal 3 (49 euros, 4:30 to 23:00) and the VIENNA Lounge in Terminal 1 (59 euros, 4:30 to 22:00), for up to 3 hours, with relax chairs and showers. The VIENNA Lounge lets you in only from 3.5 hours before your departure. Both lounges are after security but before passport control, on the Schengen side, so a transit passenger without a Schengen visa cannot reach them. Lounges take debit or credit cards. Money: Austria uses the euro. Cash machines for passengers are at the D, F and G gates, and more are in the public halls. They take Visa, Mastercard, Maestro, UnionPay and other international cards. The airport's card list names only international brands, so bring euros in cash or a card issued outside Iran. Interchange exchange offices are at the D and G gates, Terminal 1, Terminal 3 and arrivals.